Seems to me they're giving us both with an episode like this. Because there's a case involved, all the little bits of "things are different now" exposition can be snuck in sideways, rather than served up in great heaping globs. All the characters know at this point is that they have a job to do, so why not show them,…

In the 80s I pretty much wore out my mental tape heads listening to them, so now it's kind of hard for me to even really hear any song from Murmur through Life's Rich Pageant. I wandered away after Out of Time and never really looked back.

I didn't laugh either, just winced. A couple of times I sort of mentally noted that what I had just seen and heard would probably have been funny if I had read it on paper. That's a bad sign.

Because of Party Down, I kept thinking that if the dialogue were delivered in a more naturalistic, casual tone, it might have had a chance to be funny. Everyone — and especially the secondary characters — was DECLAIMING their lines as if each thing they said was a punchline, like they were in a high school play. But a…

Exactly. To me, Old Amy on her own just looked like she had some subtle makeup on, some saggyness to the cheeks and neck. It wasn't until both faces were side-to-side on the screen that I was reminded that GOOD LORD young Amy is SO YOUNG AND SO PRETTY.

I missed this episode because of lack of electricity, but as I recall when we last saw Jack he was seriously wounded, and they had that huge computer chip in the car with them, which was Totally Dangerous Tech that no one could get hold of. Wasn't it obvious at that point that the answer was going to be to put Jack on…

I had no power until Saturday morning because of the hurricane, and I found it kind of a relief that I missed this. It's been hard to finish the episodes lately because next to nothing happens, and what does happen doesn't matter in any way I can see.

Agreed. Peter Capaldi really sells it.

"Soul Bossa Nova" + silly dance sequence = worth the price of admission

That video was as dull as dirt. She lounged around the Sesame Street set for a few minutes singing about edginess or something. I want disturbing shoes! I crave freaky eye effects!

Nigel's gay panic is so close to the surface you can see its periscope. (Apologies to Spalding Gray.)

Suetonius, "The Twelve Caesars"
Read this. Contemporary-ish (2nd century) tabloid-style rundown on Augustus, Tiberius, and the rest, and the main source material for the Graves books.

BBC version is great; I've rewatched it many, many times. I wouldn't say it "suffers" from its Are You Being Served/Doctor Who production values; I'd say it makes the best of them. But the story is just so damn good, I'm sure HBO can make something different and also good out of it.

Part of the fun is watching how they change the format every year. The show had a pretty good system in place three or four seasons back, but Fox executives have to look busy, I guess, so they've been introducing new twists and making corrective adjustments each season. What show will it be this season?

Smug, unwatchable bullshit
Hated, hated, hated this movie. Sought it out forever after hearing so much praise, finally watched it on laserdisc(!) and nearly sprained my eyes rolling them.

I found it *slightly* confusing that Varys was in that scene, just from the sequence; it felt like he had dashed directly from meeting with Ned to having this scheming conversation in a different location.

I think it was Illyrio, the guy who hosted the "meet cute" between Daenerys and Khal Drogo. He's got a beard and dresses like an extra from Life of Brian.

Agreed: Moon is awesome, and the soundtrack is too.

I'm happy about this too, and pleasantly surprised. Fox could easily have added some reality show (dancing + chefs + genealogy + hoarding?), but decided to stick with a show with a small but solid audience.

It would have to be called Minge, but only Brits would be likely to get that.