I didn't watch a whole lot of anything this week, because I was quite busy. I did try out a new system in which I use a random number generator to pick what TV show I'm going to watch. It's certainly pretty interesting, though I ended up having to cut a few TV shows off the list because it turned out I didn't really…

Are the actors playing Billy and Hope already well-known? Also, how many songs from other Porter musicals are interpolated into this production?

I watched a good chunk of the cricket. We looked so good until the final innings, when Broad seemed unstoppable.

How did you find the Happy Endings sequence? I think it's pretty boring, much like the Broadway Ballet from Singin' in the Rain that it's clearly based on. They work a lot better out of context - unlike the Red Shoes Ballet, which works equally brilliantly in or out of context.

He did have the requisite moustache…

They don't, though that sounds like it would have been funny.

Was it one of those situations where the keys were left in the ignition and the door locked anyway?

I originally thought it was that John Waters. That seemed unlikely, so I looked it up and it turns out it's just an Australian actor with the same name (and a vaguely similar look in the show).

I really prefer the ballet from The Red Shoes to Black Swan, though you're right that the ballet/plot parallels are stronger in the latter. Powell pretty much used every trick he could think of and it came out brilliantly, as well as having a score that stands alone pretty well.

It did seem like most of the best comics were in the earlier part of the run. Does Daniel Kitson have any taped shows I could watch?

This weekend I was in Sydney to attend a wedding, and decided to take in a show. Unfortunately, that show was The Addams Family, a rather awful musical. This touring cast had John Waters playing the role that Nathan Lane did in the Broadway production, trying very hard to wring the laughs out (with little success),…

The other thing the show loves to do is have characters repeat lines of dialogue which, despite being very realistic, is sometimes a little frustrating (just like arguments in real life).

Congratulations on moving to a great country. I've never been to Auckland (well, I've been to the airport) but the rest of New Zealand is pretty great. Be warned, we bicker about really stupid things and it would probably help to know something about rugby.

I haven't read the book, but I'll vouch for Kubrick's adaptation. It's engrossing, though it adds a framing device that is a bit annoying (and I've been told wasn't in the book).

I definitely agree about the Taylors. It's extremely believable, and every argument they have actually makes sense.

I spent this week watching the remaining three and a bit seasons of Friday Night Lights. I'd like to discuss it, so there are going to be SPOILERS from here on out.

Yep, you just listed the two plots which have annoyed me the most (Julie's rebellious thing is in a close third).

Growing up in the mean streets of Ilam, Christchurch, I played a little bit of NFL Street. I kind of get the gist, but I wonder if there's some subtlety I'm missing. Their game plan seems to be based around Saracen handing the ball to Smash while Riggins knocks down anyone in the way.

Have you had to look up some of the football stuff?

This was a break week for me, and I used the time to start watching Friday Night Lights. I put off watching it because, not being from America, I know nothing about football. Despite this, the pilot was extremely good, as was most of the first season, and I'm now about two-thirds of the way through the problematic…