Yes, Postern of Fate is rather sad, but in keeping with several of Christie's later works, where the past weighs heavily with her.

That said, the 1945 Rene Clair version is pretty damn good, with a great cast, a lot of black humour, and some very surprising (for the time) breaking of the fourth wall, with actors addressing the camera directly. The introductory scene on the boat, as they head to Indian Island, is brilliant; completely wordless,…

I really want this to be a thing. Not the best singing voice in the world, but he acquitted himself pretty well in his couple of songs in Topsy Turvy, and if you can handle Gilbert and Sullivan you should be okay with 'Boy For Sale' (which I think is Bumble's only song).

Christie's autobiography is lovely, as is her other autobiographical work Come, Tell Me How You Live, which is about her life as the wife of archaeologist Max Mallowan.

This can only mean one thing - and I don't know what that is.

Harley Quin. The short stories involving him and Mr Satterthwaite are brilliant.Mysteries, natch, but with a whiff of the supernatural that grows stronger as the series goes on.

I was three when the 1966 animated Grinch came out. My son turned three the year the Jim Carrey version was made. I win the childhoods, I think.

'Sir Roger de Coverley', which is an old English country dance (and the music that goes with it). It's not Christmas music, but it is mentioned in A Christmas Carol as one of the dances at the Fezziwigs' party, and crops up in a few film versions of the book (as well as in other adaptations of nineteenth century…

Timothy Spall is a great actor, and while I haven't seen Mr. Turner I'm prepared to accept he's brilliant in it; so I'm really glad about his NYFCC win, and hope this finally propels him into serious Oscar consideration, rather than the 'Well, maybe' territory he seems to be inhabiting.

The Spartacus series one episode 'Party Favors' leaps to mind as an instance where the death of a major character is really matters; but only because the series has been laying the groundwork and building toward it. You hate the fact that [X] dies, but it's absolutely right that it happens, and the series has earned…

So. Much. Talking.

Plus the entire episode is done in what looks like one take but is actually two (there's a cleverly disguised cut in the middle, when someone opens the lid of the chest with the body in it and obscures the screen). I remember reading that they did the ep this way partly as an homage to Rope and partly because by…

Such was the reach and influence of the Batman TV series that when the Sherlock Holmes film A Study in Terror was released in early 1966 (not long after the TV series debuted), the tagline read 'Here comes the original caped crusader!', while the poster - featuring a picture of John Neville as Holmes - had Batman-esque…

That's 'Sir Roger Moore' to you.

It's a fair cop, Guv.

Just read Sepinwall's review. A yo-yo does figure in the opening line, yes. . . .

And I haven't even read Sepinwall's review yet!

'Dawn, on the other hand, is not [pretty great]. I don’t know if it’s the actress or the
character, but her one scene with Beth this week just made me cringe.
(I just don’t buy her as an authority figure.)'

Gabriel steps on a nail, and the first thing I think is 'Man, I hope his tetanus shot is up-to-date.'

Watched episode three of Ripper Street on Amazon Prime (episodes one and two aired back to back on 14 November; the rest of the series will have one episode up at 9.00pm GMT on Fridays).