just_meat

I might write a letter to the Beeb

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 07:48:06 GMT

I am not a Robin Hood fan, and I like tennis. But I'm appalled by the BBC's treatment of Robin Hood last night. The movement of all sports coverage to Sky can't come soon enough as far as I'm concerned.

Merlin

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 08:39:47 GMT

I just looked to see if there were any Merlin communities here on LJ. The answer is 'yes' and everyone posting to them has a Jack/Ianto icon. LOL. The Merlin/Arthur was pretty blatant, wasn't it?

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 20:06:37 GMT

I've had over an hour to collect my thoughts on Stolen Earth and I'm still getting nothing but incoherent flibble. I must say I loved the Dalek operators in Confidential - "The mutant doesn't like it if you sit on him".

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:27:00 GMT

I have come so far in avoiding spoilers for DW this year. I must not crack now.

And yes, I've seen both trailers for Stolen Earth and I've seen the cast list.

Motherhood

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:06:36 GMT

When I took it on, home wireless network administration was not included in the job description. AAAARGGHHH.

Sun, 25 May 2008 07:28:48 GMT

Last night I watched the Eurovision Song Contest for the 1st time in years. I sat there with a bottle of wine and my knitting and and enjoyed the cultural experience. Terry Wogan kept complaining that the voting was 'political'. But it wasn't, some of the countires voting so enthusiatically for each other were at war with each other quite recently and still have big political issues between them. I found it quite cheering that they find common ground when it comes to a public telephone vote for a song. Let's face it, Ireland & the UK always vote for each other, although the Irish didn't make the final this year.

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:31:12 GMT

School Holidays AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!

I feel better now.

Partners in Crime:

After the gloom of Torchwood, straight on with the fun of Dr Who. I was completely unspoiled for this bar knowing that Donna was coming back and the alien threat was designed witht the toy market in mind. And I even squealed when Rose appeared at the end. (And I'm not a fan of bringing her back at all). I now have my very own partner in crime. My 8 year old watched it 5 times.

Fires of Pompeii:

Caecilius est in horto. Metella in atrio sedet. Clemens in horto laborat.

Ha Ha Ha, very funny!

The Cambridge Latin Course has its very own facebook group.

Grumio Metellam placet.

Indeed.

Good episode too.

Torchwood finale

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 20:20:39 GMT

Oh dear!

Tosh! You are so sweet. And your story was far from over. :(

Owen! Are you really permanently dead now, or is your disembodied spirit floating around Cardiff?

Gwen does not have the charisma that the show's makers would like us to think she has. But she tries, bless her.

Ianto is cute when he's angry.

The plot was utter nonsense. I could nitpick for hours (but I won't).

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:48:52 GMT

The BBC has put a picture of 3 grim reapers, complete with scythes, on its front page. The caption reads 'Torchwood Series Finale tonight'. :((

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 22:04:48 GMT

Better late than never. 2 episodes in 3 days followed by a long holiday weekend leave me struggling to catch up.

Adrift
A Gwen episode and I liked it. Gwen has made a lot of mistakes over the last 2 seasons of TW but somehow it never mattered and everything turned out OK. This time it didin't which actually helped me feel more positive about Gwen.

Fragments
Ianto has only been at TW3 for about 4 months longer than Gwen. Yet he seemed less of a newbie the first day we met him, than Gwen does now. I always thought Jack & Ianto had a sexual relationship going before 1.01. (I saw something th other day where the writer was insisting that as long as the boys hadn't had penetrative intercouse then then they wern't having sex. Didn't Bill Clinton try that argument?). Any way Jack. Ianto & Tosh's backstories were all great. Owen's was well done but I miss Wanker!Owen, I really do. He was my 2nd favourite character in season 1. Emo!Tragic!Owen doesn't interest me nearly as much.

Finale spoilers
I haven't looked. (Go me!) but I have caught the backwash and there doesn't seem to be anything good in there. If only there was one tiny little thing that had me looking forward to it, but i'm left feeling that Torchwood will be basically over after next Friday. Maybe I should read them. Can they possibly be as bad as the fans are making out?

19th March

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 10:32:25 GMT

Looking forward to Adrift tonight. And not just for one thing which will probably last less than 10 seconds. TW has done its dud episode for this series, so this will be good. It's by Chris Chibnall too and I've always enjoyed his episodes. He certainly tends to develop the Jack/Ianto more than most of the other writers.

I've decided to save my sanity by pretending to myself that TW is ending after this series. Then I can be pleasantly surprised if we get anything at all next year. But please not

a 'family version' of the show.

Given the current fashion for retro drama a version set in the 1950s might be fun. Of course, Ianto's identical grandfather would have to be in it.

Torchwood complaints (sorry)

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 08:43:19 GMT

From Out of the Rain wasn't as bad as Random Shoes. But it didn't seem to have a plot or any character development. The cast just stood around explaining what was going on. And why was Ianto so upset? There didn't seem to be any particular reason. for it. And it wasn't scary. Ianto was pretty though.

And speaking of Ianto, the BBC Torchwood website has one picture of Ianto. There are 3 of Tosh, 4 of Owen, 9 of Gwen and 14 of Jack. There are even 3 of Rhys (with Gwen). I know Ianto's had a lot more screentime in series 2 but he hasn't had his own episode (ep 10 certainly wasn't it) and seems to have been set up as Jack's Squeeze and nothing else. He's also barely been seen in the Declassifieds. I suppose I can console myself with his starring role in the website game.

11th March

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 13:21:12 GMT

My car has gone to have its dent knocked out. So I'm stuck here unless I want to go out for a walk in the rain (which I don't).

The dent is actually 2 dents. A couple of years ago I hit a pillar & dented the rear door. I got a quote for the repair and sat on it for a while. Then about 6 months later I made the dent bigger on the same pillar. Obviously putting off the repair of the 1st dent was a wise financial decision, not just my usual procrastination. Now my husband has finally got fed up with being seen in my dented car and organised it for me. The only thing that worries me is that damned pillar. It's still there waiting to leap out at me when I least expect it.

This is how it starts

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 19:51:33 GMT

My 12 year old daughter has just informed me that she and her friends are going to write a novel together. The subject

Gay Dumbledore

They think they are being so original!

Torchwood: Something Borrowed

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 13:12:49 GMT

On a first watch I wasn't to sure about this, but 2nd time through I decided I loved it. At least we didn't get any faux anguish about 'saving the baybeee'. They all just wanted to get rid of it.

Jack's feelings about Ianto are puzzling me now. Ianto seems quite dependent on Jack, but Jack spends his emotional energies on Gwen, Owen & unknown people who are long dead. In several episodes this year Jack has ended the episode all alone and brooding in the Hub. I suppose it's possible that he doesn't want to burden Ianto but I would like a bit more.

In amongst the nods to 'immaculate conception' and giving birth in a stable Gwen and Rhys had a civil ceremony. ("I call upon these persons here present to witness...."). Not a preacher in sight.

5th March

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 19:28:16 GMT

My, my there are a lot of silly rumours about today. But tonight is Torchwood night and Nerys Hughes is going to be in it. I wavered in my spoiler avoiding this week, but somehow still don't know what's going to happen in this episode. I am perfecting the art of clicking on a link and then not absorbing the information it presents me with. Or maybe premature senility is setting in.

I'm also waiting to see when Dr Who returns. I predict 29th March. The thread on the doctorwhoforum about this is hilarious. Some people really do have far too much time on their hands.

28th Feb.

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 17:17:24 GMT

I am a little concerned that Torchwood is in danger of disappearing up its own backside. Owen's undeadness is permanent which displeases me as it indicates endless Owen angst and that is something I can only take in small doses. Having said that, Burn Gorman is fantastic, I must try and find the time to watch Bleak House. Ianto looked fabulous. Has GDL been working out?

From next week's trailer can i just say that I am so glad that it's Gwen whose been impregnated by an alien. If they had gone with a male pregnancy storyline I would have ~~stopped watching.~~

I watched about 2/3 of Worlds of Fantasy last night and found it excellent. (sadly I failed to notice that all the repeats were in the small hours of Thursday morning so I have already missed the chance to record it. IPlayer here I come). I'm glad I'm not the only person who a) never liked Peter Pan and b) had the Narnia books ruined by the realisation that it was supposed to be a Christian allegory. I was always on Susan's side.

Telly

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 16:52:56 GMT

The trouble with half-term is that I can't get near the computer. And now that coursework is kicking in I can't even turf them off because I want to play. M is saving for his own laptop and I'm beginning to think I should offer a contribution.

I finished watching City of Vice. It improved as it went on and I found myself hoping for a second series. I don't think the ratings were very good though, so I'm not holding my breath.

Ashes to Ashes is also improving. I knew it would, I just had to grit my teeth through the second episode. Alex's behaviour has to be judged with the caveat that she genuinely believes she is hallucinating. So I am now accounting for this when she is ludicrously self indulgent & rude. Gene is too subdued though and I'm still over analysing the soundtrack.

Torchwood: Dead Man Walking was weird and I haven't had a chance to re-watch yet. I'm reserving judgement on Zombie!Owen. I can't imagine how they are going to write themselves out of this gracefully.

The Last Enemy: I have got the 1st ep from iplayer and recorded the 2nd (I was indulging myself watching Lewis at 9pm on Sunday - it's like a familiar comfort blanket.) The Last Enemy is struggling for ratings, especially against Lewis which got 8 million, which shows just how well Torchwood is doing.

BBC4 have a documentary series on 'fantastic literature' starting tomorrow. At 9pm which leaves me with some complicated planning of recordings to organise. I want to get TW without the pink logo, TW declassified, new TW, Dexter (heard good things about & want to try) & the kids want Reaper.

Tatting

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 15:27:06 GMT

Some more tatting. This pattern turns up in lots of pattern books. This is my second attempt, on the first go I pulled the chains far too tight.

This one was meant to be an edging but, once again my tension is too tight and it turned into a circle.

Hangovers

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 10:29:27 GMT

It's not fair. I had one measly glass of red wine last night and now I have a hangover. It was expensive stuff as well. My OH bought it as a treat. I used to be able to drink anything except cider and not have to worry about the after effects.

TV, Torchwood, Ashes to Ashes

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 14:31:55 GMT

Torchwood:Adam I found this episode quite disturbing, mainly for the implications of mind-rape (Ianto - all of them) and actual rape (Tosh). Most scifi that goes for that plot (and they all do eventually) does it so badly that it has little effect on the viewer.

A couple of points:

Of course Ianto knows he could end up retconned at any time,so he keeps a paper record. Sensible boy.

Gwen's declaration of love for Jack came while she was still missing most of her memories of Rhys.

Adam disappeared when they stopped believing in him and no one's complaining about an 'atheist agenda'. Hmmm.

Torchwood: Reset

Another excellent episode. It was nice to see Martha again. [rant]The pink thing in the corner was horridly distracting, who the hell do BBC3 think they are marketing themselves to with that? 6 year old girls?[/rant] I'm going to amuse myself by imagining that the insect thingies were the Wirrn, at least until TPTB confirm that they aren't.

As for Owen's demise I have failed to avoid every single spoiler - although I'm doing better than I was - so I'm not going to comment.

Ashes to Ashes: I'm still struggling with this. The trouble is I really do remember 1981. So when something jars it takes me out of the story and when I recognise something (be it the music, the make up, the glasses or the pop culture) that takes me out of the story too.

Addiction

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 20:24:11 GMT

I think I am addicted to Torchwood. I am going to be out until 10pm tomorrow and the thought of having to wait to see both new episodes is making me feel stressed. As far as I can see, post-watershed Adam is not going to be repeated at all so I'm totally depedant on my PVR to do its thing (and not cut the last minute off as it switches to Three for Reset). I know it will be on iPlayer but I really don't like watching TV on my monitor and the file self-destructs after 7 days.

Gareth David-Lloyd is going to be on Declassified on Thursday.talking about "Ianto's unforgettable role in Torchwood's latest alien adventure." I'm quoting from the BBC website. They just want to torture me.

Ashes to Ashes and other TV

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 11:29:19 GMT

I didn't much enjoy the 1st episode of Ashes to Ashes. Keeley Hawes was terrible, it made no sense (well, what the hell was I expecting? It's not as if Life on Mars made sense either) and I had to make myself watch it to the end. I'm prepared to keep going for a couple more weeks though.

I think I am annoyed about The BBC scheduling 2 Torchwood episodes this week. I like to absorb each one properly before moving on to the next, not watch them one straight after the other. On a brighter note it does mean I am relatively unspoiled for episode 6 ( apart from the huge casting spoiler, obviously). I am looking forward to Adam if only because it was written by Catherine Tregenna and has Ianto-angst and Jack-backstory. Curiously there seems to be no promotion going on for Martha's first TW appearance. I suppose the Beeb don't want to be accused of encouraging the kiddies to watch the 'wrong' version. I assume that at the end of Adam the continuity announcer will drop a hint to switch to Three for the next episode.

It's a brilliantly sunny day here, the kind where you think that spring must be just around the corner. The garden beckons. It was so neglected last year with floods and my shoulder problems combining to stop me working in it for weeks on end. At least it's normal for it to be wet underfoot in February.

Torchwood: Meat

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 11:26:03 GMT

Even better than last week. I don't care about the CGI. The Jack/Ianto was there in the background over & over again, and Ianto was unbelievably hot in his coat. I'm not even going to second guess where Jack/Gwen is going but I don't think it's romance. I think (speculation) that Jack knows something about Gwen's future.

It had a rude remark about Merthyr, which regularly comes top in 'shittiest place in the UK' surveys, and my LJ name got another mention Yay!

I'm confused about Owen. I enjoyed watching him last year and we have been given reasons on screen for the changes to his character but he just isn't very interesting at the moment. Tosh seems to have got over Tommy very quickly, I will fanwank a large time gap between this ep and the last one. Something else I've noticed about Ianto is that he has quite a temper, which he expends considerable effort in keeping under control.

Update

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 18:14:52 GMT

It's been a busy week. 2 kids and 1 husband got knocked out by a virus for 2 days each 1 after the other. My father in law had another stroke. My mother's house sale hasn't fallen through so she's looking for somewhere to rent while she finds a place to buy.

I'm looking forward to Torchwood tonight. I actually like Rhys unlike some fans. Rhys reminds me of Lacey's husband (whose name I can't even remember) from Cagney and Lacey. It's a pretty similar role but the facial features & slight chubbiness are a match too.

I do wish The Guardian would stop being snide about Torchwood. I'm not even going to bother quoting today's preview of Meat.