Yesterday's date had been in our calender since it was first released as the showing of the 50th anniversary episode and in the end our day was scheduled around a feast of TV.
A special roast dinner was made to be ready by 6.30pm and the start of Strictly. Followed hot on its heels by the Dr Who 50th special episode. Just last week I saw that the return of Borgen was being advertised so I had that in mind for 9pm after Dr Who. Borgen is an incredible and amazing series I discovered from my dear friend who passed away early in the year. As we watched together the last triumphant twist and turn of that last episode of the last series she had turned to me and wryly joked that one thing was for sure and that she would not be around for the next series. I suppose it is the sort of joke I would make but is not very funny when one is not the one making the joke.
The evening began with the roast not being quite cooked enough in places. A signifier of the evening ahead I wondered.
Strictly was good enough though nothing particularly special as it is the last few weeks and the judges are suddenly much more critical. We sneaked a preview of who actually gets the boot by the end of the evening and lets say I was very surprised given the two up, or rather, down in the bottom two in the dance off. Tonight's show will be interesting.
The Dr Who special was sort of good. Expectations are so flaming high that making something that celebrated 50 years of what is very much a cult was always going to be difficult. There were some very good points. Overall I gave it a six out of ten which was exceptionally harsh of me.
So there we were, mixed review roast followed by two less than top notch programmes let me onto Borgen for which the other programming had overrun and Borgen had already started. In at the deep end with subtitles flashing away. My poor Mr Doris who had never seen any of the previous would have been isolated as to where we were and who we were dealing with. Though never mind him, I felt thrown in the deep end and I love the programme. Then I checked the programme info and I find it was actually the third episode of the new series. The third!!! What happened to the previous two? Even I need to catch those two before I can proceed.
Within minutes I flicked Borgen off and to the Dr Who after show party and the inane and repetitive "Did you enjoy that" questions which even one of the presenters commented that no-one could hardly say that they didn't. It is the sort of programming that might have been a good idea on paper and is sadly lacking. There was mention of an alternative 50th anniversary Dr Who programme which could be seen on the red button after the after show party. That mythical and rarely pressed red button except for watching alternative sports during the Olympics or taking part in the "guess the antiques price" in Antiques Roadshow.
Oh beautiful red button you saved our day! Peter Davison I never knew how much I love you! The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot is quite possibly the most brilliant and funniest and best celebration of the 50th anniversary. Typical self-deprecation and use of real family members takes Dr Who to a whole new level. What a delight it was to watch with so many references to all things Dr Who and involving a whole raft of the significant characters both behind the scenes and in front of the camera as well as a wealth of others. I do not want to say much more as it might be to spoil other's viewing pleasure. This is the gem of our Saturday night and the jewel of the 50th anniversary of Dr Who.
BBC iplayer usually only available in the UK and only for seven days
Addendum:
I have just had a delightful time re-watching the Reboot film and even freeze framed the credits and looked up who was who online! One thing led to another which led to discovering these creative and wonderful three minute vignettes created by a New York Doctor Who fan. The Adventures of the Doctor Puppet are worth watching all the way through the episodes and also the Christmas Special: How the Doctor Puppet Saved Christmas; and the music video tribute. I so look forward to the next episode. 10.46am 24 November
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2 comments:
I will tae a look at those puppet videos. I like your approach to the occasion of some television. We do that sometimes as well. We have a traditional Strictly Sweepstake running and have been known to live tweet to one another when it's on air. This year a few events have conspired against us on that aspect, but there's still time as we approach the last few weeks.
It is fun when there is something more than just vegetating in front of the tv screen!
It will be a hard one to call as to who will win Strictly this year so you've definitely still time to get those sweepstakes up and running.
By the way, you do know that the Sunday show is filmed directly after the Saturday show and that the results are "known" online from about 11pm-ish on the Saturday?
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