chrischapman-47545

Alternative title "How to make a silly lamp or coffee table" If in doubt spray it with aerosol paint or wax it. After saying all that it is quite entertaining despite its faults, although it helps if you have an interest in motorbikes and automobilia. I actually find Gemma rather good once you get used to her accent - maybe should have her own makeover show. I feel a bit sorry for Alan Millyard who is an expert motorcycle engineer lumbered with some silly jobs. I also wish they wouldn't just wander off camera after agreeing what to do with their finds, usually involving making a cup of tea. Despite all this it's passable light entertainment, despite the crap puns, and at least it's far better than Money For Nothing....

It's Christmas night and you're bit tipsy/befuddled after seasonal indulgence. Onto your small 625 line CRT colour TV comes this grainy sinister ghost story which scares the bejabers out of you, and continues to do so 50 odd years later.

Filmed on a small budget which actually contributes to the mood, it's made on 16mm film with a rather fixed camera which also adds to the atmosphere of an ethereal windswept and isolated Norfolk coast. Fine performances by the limited cast and a true period feel. I recently caught it again on the excellent Talking Pictures TV channel and it can also be found on DVD and even Blu-ray which seems a bit of technical overkill. One of an annual BBC series which could also be revived on BBC4. My only complaint would be that the crown looks like it was bashed out from an old tin can...

I can't stand soccer but really enjoyed this Aardman film which I caught on TV, not having come across it before - maybe the initial release/marketing was poor? The plot has lots of historical holes in it but in an Aardman film you suspend disbelief and look for all the jokes, many of which probably make sense only to a British audience and can be missed in a single viewing. There are characterisations possibly seen before, eg the rabbit, but they work nevertheless - not sure about the giant mallard though. Lots of visual humour/slapstick to keep children happy. I particularly like Rob Brydon'd Messenger Bird - there is a lot of great timing in the animation. There's possibly even some subliminal tribute to other films, eg the French castle guards in Monty Python & The Holy Grail?

A very early British talkie (hence poor sound quality but on the version I saw on TPTV there is sound all the way through). Starring the talented Lupino Lane - a master of timing and slapstick. What elevates it above many comedies of the period is the amount of external shots (of Blackpool) at the beginning of the 1930's - not just a lot of cheap interior sets with two dimensional acting. The actors show carryover influence of both silent movies and theatrical stage. The baddies are stereotypical in the extreme and come from a fictional European country with silly hand signals as greetings - two years before Hitler came to power. There must have been a reasonable budget given the number of actors and dancers involved even if some were roped in holidaymakers. It isn't very sophisticated, especially the dance routines, but you can see why audiences enjoyed it at the time. Basically a comedy with some good touches, not to be taken too seriously and in context, and a fascinating view of Blackpool.

Having watched Taskmaster in the UK from the beginning I approached Taskmaster NZ with some trepidation and was pleasantly surprised. With a population of only 5 million and viewing figures under 200k with a smaller pool of potential contestants I had to expect some effects of a lower budget than the UK version but I found the range of tasks just as innovative, the positive relationships between the contestants grow as each series progresses and in particular the Taskmaster and his assistant Paul have none of the frankly abusive, unpleasant and not very funny manner of Greg in the UK version towards Alex. Paul in Taskmaster NZ does come in for some stick but it is generally done in good humour. There may be more ad breaks and the humour levels are more adult with greater use of four letter words than the UK version.

I am a great fan of NZ anyway as a country even if the dialect often replaces "e" with "i"....

This documentary is good in terms of the archive footage and interviews with personnel and family involved with both drivers, especially Ferrari, but I would encourage viewers to check out the Wikipedia entries for both drivers which cover a wider band of their careers and put things in a broader context. They also question some of the assertations and impressions made in the documentary, eg Hockenheim was both dry and wet and the doctors did not suggest that Pironi's leg would be amputated. There is also a claim that Pironi did not go back into F1, after successful testing with AGS and Ligier, partly due to the effects of his injuries but also because the insurance payout after his Hockenheim accident was conditional on his not racing in F1 otherwise he would have to repay a substantial sum. I think the documentary could have provided more technical detail and put things in a broader context than its dramatic narrative.

Coincidentally I am reading LTC Rolt's book "Narrow Boat" chronicling his exploration of the decaying British canal system at the same time - apparently he was consulted during the making of this film but didn't get a title credit much to his chagrin.

Having lived in a canal area it's striking how much the industrial landscape changed in the subsequent 50 years - now unrecognisable. Filmed during World War 2 it is notable how decrepit things were at that time due to a lack of investment - very much a working environment with no hint of the leisure boom which has lead to a resurgence in the use of canals.

I caught this film on the Talking Pictures channel and it is striking how good and clear the print quality is despite being filmed during a period of technical shortages.

The plot is a little melodramatic/of its period, with a bit of wartime propaganda inevitably thrown in, but the scenes of canal and industrial life make it an important film record.

There are many reviews already on IMDB but FWIW my favourite bit is the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch.

I recommend fans of the film to look at the official Python book of the script - originally it was going to be a rehash of previous TV series sketches and bits of the final script, eg King Brian the Wild, didn't make it in the final film/were not shot.

Another interesting fact is that there problems with the original musical soundtrack - in test screenings the audiences failed to find the film funny.

Making the film was a nightmare with its limited budget, directorial squabbles and cold/wet conditions but somehow they managed to produce a masterpiece. These days there would have been a sequel but would it have been as good?

This documentary contains lots of rarely seen footage, much of it in colour and of better clarity than often seen inprevious documentaries. The sheer complexity of the project becomes apparent and it's interesting to speculate what a modern equivalent moonshot would be like in terms of IT, etc. What is also striking is the almost complete absence of female and ethnic minority team members.

I am sure that the film is great in IMAC but its widescreen format means that on TV the graphics showing time and velocity, etc, along with the end credits,are tiny. Also there is no voiceover commentary which would have been useful to explain some of the things going on, eg the alarms just prior to the moonlanding. Nevertheless fascinating and highly recommended watch.

Fifth Gear has had a chequered history - moving from channel to channel with repeated risk of cancellation, but the new Recharged version shows a maturity and expertise lacking in many automotive shows such as the increasingly embarrassing UK Top Gear. Jason Plato, Vicky Butler-Henderson,Karun Chandhok and Grace Webb know their stuff and genuinely seem to be having fun together, not pulling any punches but equally not going over the top. However, Sid North seems a bit out of his depth - occasionally just repeating what others in the team say. Tiff Needell is notably missed. Just reviewing EV's may limit its scope, and it must be made on a budget given its limited audience size, but it's good viewing even so - intelligent and imaginative.

It could be a fascinating look behind the scenes of an important British model supplier (although we don't actually see the overseas manufacturing) but a lot of it just feels staged for the cameras. Development processes seem extremely simplified and it often feels just like a Hornby advertorial with a few other industry/hobby characters thrown in for good measure. Overall the tone seems too simplified for the target audience. There is also a lack of care in the filming, eg in Series 2 episode 1 locos are seen going along without all the wheels going round. Rather a missed opportunity but at least it covers serious models and layouts rather than a certain Channel 5 series...

Daytime quiz shows seems to be where somewhat mediocre comedians and presenters are put out to grass. Reviving old formats often has a short life. Until now I hadn't really rated Romesh, IMO coming across as somewhat jaundiced and miserable, but here he shines with great timing, pace and an endless stream of puns. He makes the show exciting, well paced and seems to be totally in control, very rarely stumbling or making mistakes. He doesn't make the common error of exaggerating/false excitement in the trivial. Good clear intonation and generally well polished. I just get a bit fed up with quiz shows with gloomy blue lighting.

It's quite common to consider that the BBC has dumbed down - certainly in science documentaries they are nowhere near as taxing as vintage Horizon programmes on subatomic physics. However, in The Secret Genius of Modern Life they have a brilliant mix of information and entertainment. Professor Hannah Fry is an absolute gem with her sense of humour, almost flirting with the camera and breaking the Fourth Wall by involving the production team, whilst covering subjects at a good pace with information that I found well researched and scripted, presented and novel. I hope that there's another series. In some ways this series reminded me of a mixture of the programmes done by James May and many years ago by James Burke.

While The World At War is probably the definitive account of WW2 this series provides a new global perspective on how it came about and what actually happened. If the numbers quoted are accurate it explodes certain myths and shows how errors and accidents had major effects on the outcome. My only criticism is that some of the film sequences are not the apposite to the commentary although in fairness this is mentioned.

I am rather surprised that there have been no other IMDB reviews of this series. It shows life on a variety of family farms mainly in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Sympathetic commentary and truly excellent drone photography. My only criticisms are that maybe it could show more of the financial and bureaucratic pressures, especially with Brexit, and it seems to concentrate more on animal than arable farming - possibly due to the locations where it is filmed. It would be useful to have followups since each series has a different selection of farms but I guess that some families prefer not to stay in the public eye.

What is it with Paddy McGuinness - he presents all sorts of shows but here again he is totally out of his depth - in Top Gear he can't even drive very well and is very short of interesting and relevant things to say. This is after Chris Evans and Matt Le Blanc - why can't BBC producers (of which there are far too many) find decent presenters? Chris Harris knows his stuff (I often feel he is talking through gritted teeth at what is thrown at him) while Freddie knows little about cars and just can't read a voiceover script and autocue convincingly. Embarrassing. An independent production company, as found on other channels, could do so much better.

The boys produce an episode which is better than recent ones (due to the return of writer/editor Richard Porter?) Intelligent and often apparently spontaneous humour with a real understanding and affection for the cars. It might upset a few Francophiles but there is actual respect for the country. Others have said that the race sequence is a bit long (Andy Wilman usually takes ages carefully editing the show but there may have been a shortage of material due to Covid restrictions) Some sequences and comments are a bit OTT but it all hangs together and it serves to show how much Top Gear has gone down the pan in their absence.

Homes Under The Hammer meets First Dates meets Changing Rooms. Effectively a cringefest as two people who don't know each other (and often do not get on) are given a house (often bought too expensively) to renovate and end up doing things that are not needed, lose interest, make a poor job of finishing it and spectacularly fail to make any money, especially given apparently exorbitant fees. A programme so flawed in its execution that it almost becomes a car crash to watch - just record it and skip to the end to see how things have fallen apart and how uncomfortable the presenter is this week.

This series shows how Talking Pictures TV finds and restores old films, TV shows, etc. This is important and interesting work but for me it is spoilt by Mike Read and his inane, rambling, repetitive and occasionally illinformed comments - I find myself watching it with the sound turned down! New presenter/interviewer or a script that he diligently sticks to please! TPTV is an absolute gem of a channel for film and social history buffs.

Unfortunately there is too much philosophising, repetition, explaining the obvious, etc, etc - it reminds me too much of all that went wrong with Wheeler Dealers. Some humour in banter with the crew but overall it is a missed opportunity.

Although presenting a good picture of agricultural life, a few of the tasks shown can seem contrived for the cameras. More importantly, I keep finding the cast asking each other questions which clearly they already know the answer to, eg having worked together doing the same job for many years - voiceover explanation or pieces direct to the camera would be much better.

This film feels much more modern than one typically made only 6 years after the introduction of the talkies. The actors do not adopt the theatrical stances commonly found in films of this age, the sets are well detailed and much use is made of atmospheric external cinematography.

The plot involving love of a couple between two feuding families is hardly innovative and the only downside I find is the somewhat cod (excuse the pun) Yorkshire accents and use of the descriptive but cliched word "Champion"!

Another variation on the antiques/collectables genre as we look at the work of a Yorkshire auction centre handling anything from a house clearance upwards. Not as pretentious as the management in Salvage Hunters but possibly not quite as warm and naturally funny as its Yorkshire car auction sister Bangers N Cash. However, in all fairness at the time of this review it is early days and the programme makers have had to cope with Covid - hopefully we will see more of the personalities of the staff and regular customers as the series progresses.

Some of the conversations seem a bit staged and I don't see why they need to show us tracking shots of what rooms look like once they are emptied. The range/distances covered are quite surprising. Angus is a genuine warm person who knows his antiques, etc.

Overall it is a promising concept done sympathetically and not underestimating the intellect and knowledge of the audience. Perhaps they could emulate Bangers N Cash in showing more about the successful bidders and where the items sold end up and also what happens to items that prove unsaleable.

As a dog owner I stumbled across this series and really like it. It shows a dog rescue charity matching dogs with potential owners. What really brings it to life is the wide variety of back stories of the owners, who are often surprising and easy to emphasise with, and the dogs (ditto) while there is a segment at the end which shows how things turned at the home environment some time later .

The rescue centre itself is immaculately kept and very well staffed - probably a cut above the average compared to some more amateur but well meaning sites.

The process is a bit formulaic, eg CCTV commentaries by a group of staff watching the dog meet its potential owners in a controlled environment, and the choice of dogs offered can seem a bit random and limited.

Nevertheless it is a very heartwarming show and also teaches a lot about the advantages/disadvantages/pitfalls of dog ownership. Good camerawork and well editted. Great viewing for all the family, except our dogs who will bark at anything four legged on the telly....

OK it's not sophisticated, and the visual gags can be seen coming a mile off, but if you put your brain neutral you can let the whole family see it and enjoy watching a surprisingly large cast of British comedy greats having fun. Stratford Johns is also well cast as a stoic desk sergeant as opposed to his serious police roles in TV's Softly Softly, etc

Other reviewers have mentioned the female hitchhiker but another unfortunate sign of the times may be the dustcart crew who are all black actors.

It's also of interest for the period street scenes, even if some of the lighting is a bit overdone.

I'm not sure why they bothered remaking it in 1979 since the original picture quality is good and it possibly only needs a bit of editing to maintain the pace.

Nevertheless it's an enjoyable comedy without being taxing.