Have put in a request for Saxondale. Might get it added by next year. Can't believe how long it takes to get new shows put up if they're not American.

I can't believe it, but they've finally added Hyperdrive to tv.com after only seven or eight months of me first requesting it. Was beginning to think it wouldn't appear before the second series starts. Have started to add the episodes and stars etc. Feel like contributing to this site again because of that. Beforehand it just felt like you were being ignored.

Went to see a filming of QI the other week (17th May to be precise) at The London Studios. Fascinating stuff. I've been to a few studio-based filmings before but previously they were for sitcoms where you would be forced to watch actors redo the same scene many times over for various reasons, each time the joke gets less funny but you are told to keep laughing. QI was different as it's a panel gameshow. The filming of the episode took two hours but with no break in between just constant funny stuff from the panel.
The host, as usual, was Stephen Fry with guests Phill Jupitus, Graeme Garden and Johnny Vaughan. Our resident panelist Alan Davies was missing however...
At the start of the filming each star is introduced and they walk on to the set to a big round of applause and take their seats and a bit of banter ensues. The first four were introduced and then Stephen Fry introduced Alan Davies but told us to be a bit gentle as Davies had been out on the pop the previous night and was feeling a bit delicate. So on comes Davies who sits down and keeps his face to the ground. He says nothing. We are soon told that there will be a bit of special effects in the show tonight so we should watch the monitors at the start. A good job we did, five minutes in we see what the special effect is. Fry got Alan to answer some daft question about divination and how he could work out the future by use of a fake bottom and then he disappeared in a Doctor Who Tardis noise stylee. This was on the monitor. In the studio "Alan" sat still all the way through this and when he disappeared on screen the man playing Alan (same shirt, stupid wig) got up and walked off. Fry soon explained that as Davies was a big Arsenal fan he was at the Stade de France for the Champion's League Final against Barcelona (Arce v Barce as Fry put it). So, the whole episode was played without Davies except for a few prerecorded voiceover answers (which he always got wrong of course). A bit disappointing not to have Davies there as he and Fry are very funny together but overall a very enjoyable show and I can't wait to see what it looks like when edited down to half an hour.
Won't go into too much detail about the content of the show except that Johnny Vaughn is a twonk though he did have an amusing, off-the-record, story about the troubles in Paul McCartney and Heather Mills' marriage.

Recent telly's been rubbish, I think. Let me list all the things I can remember watching in the last week to see if I'm right.

Mondays
There's usually nowt on but tonight I watched Feel the Force, a new BBC2 comedy with the brilliant Michelle Gomez. Was quite decent, had a few good laughs, all mainly thanks to Gomez who is turning into one of my favourite comedy actresses. Will keep watching this show as I'm guessing it might improve once the characters bed in.

Tuesdays
Normally a new episode of Ideal. Tonight was the last episode. Ended on a bit of a downer but I do hope they bring this show back but maybe with less of Cartoon Head and Psycho Paul. They do and say nothing funny. Keep Craig/Steve and have more Jenny and Colin and many of the other little characters, there's always a laugh to be had with them. And if they bring back Judith try to make her less nervous, it's very off-putting.
Also watch It's Not Easy Being Green as I'm genuinely curious as to how we can live in a 'green' world. So far it doesn't look easy unless you have a love of and talent for taking old pieces of junk and converting them into water wheels, bio-diesel filter machines, etc.

Wednesdays
Get my weekly dose of Desperate Housewives. Can't understand why I still watch this show. Perhaps because my girlfriend still does but I'm losing interest in most of the storylines, I hate that Susan character. At least Bree is an interesting character but the new mother and son and slow son family that moved in at the end of series one can get to feck as far as I'm concerned.

Thursdays
Don't recall watching anything on this day last week.

Fridays
Ah, three of my favourite programmes were on this night.
Have I Got News For You. Still going strong but I wish they'd settle on a permanent presenter now.
Green Wing. Joy of joys, stylish comedy with some truly pant-bursting moments (my favourite of this series is where Harriet sticks a banana in Joanna's cleavage - a must-see). Only disappointment is that Sally Phillips is a bit of **** (that begins with a b and ends in itch by the way. Thanks tv.com censors!) in it, I like her too much to enjoy this.
My Name is Earl. It's always good to see a comedy from America that does not rely upon a studio audience to whoop and cheer at anything slightly amusing and using unresolved sexual tension between one or more characters as a hook to keep us watching. Randy, although not an original character, is still used to great effect (I think it was Earl's quote that Randy is afraid of chickens and the pope's big hat but mainly because he thinks there's chickens under it) and my girlfriend is thankful for the presence of Jason Lee. I agree, not for the looks, but I didn't realise what a great comic actor he is until this.

Saturdays
Doctor Who is the only thing worth watching here. This Doctor Who encapsulates all that I used to love about Saturday night TV as a kid. It is really well-written and acted and keeps us pretend-kids gripped at the edge of our sofas now (though some episodes do make us want to crawl around the back again: remember the child in the gas mask - "Are you my mummy?" still sends shivers down my spine). I remember last year going to a party at a friend's house on the night of the final episode and, while the party kicked off in the garden and kitchen (as it normally does), a bunch of us had sectioned off the living room for 45 minutes of nail-gripping entertainment and the joy of seeing a new regeneration.

Sundays
24 we watch but it's losing it's fun for me. I remember being gripped at the end of every episode in the first three series but this fifth one can feel like they're just retreading already well-worn paths. And I hate what they do with some characters. I liked Sean Astin's character when he first arrived (as a character, not a person) and even more so when he was proved right in some point, but then they introduced his sister in some contrived plot to make him into a bit of a twonk again. Did Sean Astin upset someone after the first few episodes? Will keep watching until the end, but with only one eye on the screen.
If we're lucky we might get a new Poirot or Marple on ITV or they might give us a new, big drama. It's about all ITV is good for nowadays.

So, in conclusion, not much really. There's about four good things on at the moment and they occupy about 2 hours, 45 minutes of my time each week. So why do I find myself watching about 40 hours of TV every week?

Finally catching up with Green Wing as Channel 4 are repeating it every night until the new series starts. Missed it the first time around due to being in Germany but it's certainly something I wish I got Roz to record for me. Never mind, loving it now, just got a few more episodes to watch and then I can see the new series opener.

Watched the new episode of Ideal called The Stag Do. It's not being shown until next week on BBC Three but they're streaming it on the internet a week in advance. I believe they're doing this for all the episodes this series like they did for The Mighty Boosh and other BBC Three comedies. Lovely first episode of the new series. Subdued as usual, but the usual one-liners (I would add them here but I can never remember them exactly). The new character Judith, Moz's neighbour, is intriguing. Why is she so nervous?

Ooh, same old, same old. Love it.

Had a few days in Wales where it did nothing but rain so I caught up on the first five episodes of Life on Mars. One of the finest dramas from the UK in recent years. Obviously a lot of humour is gained from the differences between 1970s cops and modern ones but it's never overdone and is tempered by the superb acting of John Simm. Nice story arc where we're led to believe that Sam is alive in 2006 but in a coma. So, is all of this in his mind (like Iain Banks' "The Bridge") or is there some sort of link between 1973 and 2006 and Sam is really inhabiting both times. Wish I hadn't watch some of the episodes in the dark as it has some horror moments such as the BBC testcard girl and her clown talking to Sam in his sleep. Only eight episodes. Are they going to finish it in the last episode or leave it open for further series? I can imagine this can run for a long time. Wouldn't surprise me if the States don't pick up the format and make their own version of it as they've got a huge catalogue of their own 70s cop shows to homage/mimic/show-up/etc.

Well, finally saw the end of Bleak House. It was worth waiting for. Loved the whodunnit, totally threw me. I was so sure that, because we were led to believe it was Sergeant George that killed Tulkinghorn that it was therefore Lady Dedlock but there was a nice twist. Quite a sad ending I have to say. Talked with the girlfriend, and she hates herself for thinking this, but she would have preferred a more Hollywood ending. Such as Rick living and all the money being shared equally between him, his wife, Jarndyce, Esther, etc. Or at least have Lady Dedlock live and her husband to not care about her past indiscretions and accept Esther into the family or something. Masterful storytelling though. If only there was a sequel!

Caught up on some viewing after my trip to Norway. Fecking knackered still but I had Monday off work so could relax. Rome is getting better and better and I've just about remembered most characters' names. The show has got me into reading a bit more on Roman history, something I only learned a little of at school (...Julius Caesar was a Roman who took over most of the world but, when he came to Scotland, he was scared off so ran away back to Rome...) and find it fascinating. It's intriguing to see how the TV show compares with real history and I can see quite a few discrepancies but I'm not too fussed about them as it makes it more dramatically pleasing. Bleak House also improves every episode and I also have had difficulty remembering the names of the characters. Getting there, though. All sorts of revelations are coming out which keep me on the edge of my seat (such as Lady Dedlock being Esther's mother and Jarndyce wanting to marry her) and a lot of brilliant characters, such as Krook and Smallweed. I daren't try to read the novel as I think it could not possibly live up to this adaptation.