Arena - Billy: How Did You Do It?
A 3-part thing from 1992, as film-maker Volker Schlondorff talked extensively to the legendary director Billy Wilder (often in German) about his film-making journey, the legends he worked with, and the way his career progressed. Well worth the look.
The Bottom Line
Steve Clemons talks to Shibley Telhami, who manages to be an author and political scientist. Then to John Mearsheimer, a more familiar face on shows like this, on the possible endgame in Gaza.
What If s2 eps 2&3
"What If...Peter Quill Attacked Earth's Mightiest Heroes"
"What If...Happy Hogan Saved Christmas"
Reacher Ep 4 “A Night At The Symphony”’ Season 2
Frasier (2023) Ep 10 "Reindeer Games" Season 1
What If s2 ep4 "What If..Tony Stark Crashed Into The Grandmaster"
Doctor Who: The Church On Ruby Road
What If s2 ep5 "What If....Captain Carter Fought The Hydra Stomper"
Mike Yarwood - Thank You For The Laughs
A tribute being put together when the poor bloke died, and including many of the impressionist who owe their careers to his success.
Mike Yarwood at the BBC
A special from last week, with Rory Bremner linking some clips from his decade there, as well as other moments such as his final show with Bob Monkhouse.
(25-05-2023 21:07 )Doddle Wrote: [ -> ]Painting Birds, with Jim & Nancy Moir
6 - LANCASHIRE
Jim & Nancy visit Leighton Moss to meet Chris Packham and some bearded tits. Both Nancy and Chris do a joke and Jim strokes his beard thoughtfully. Then he goes to Morecambe to paint the Midland Hotel from the inside.
On the whole, a really well-made series, and they even mentioned about Jim's hearing issues as a justification for Nancy being there since her love for ornithology seems less genuine than her husband's. I did get a vague sense of this series being Jim's nod to Bob Mortimer's fishing triumphs, but the viewers win because both shows are good.
PB, w/J&NM
Xmas - Finland/Lapland
Jim, having already made clear his distaste for robins, tries to push the Bohemian Waxwing as a more suitable case for Christmas affection. No chance.
His celebrity guest is his fisherman friend, Bob Mortimer.
But Bob is left behind when Jim takes his wife and daughters to Lapland so he can paint the Northern Lights.
Barbara Knox at 90
Affable ex-Corrie actor and all-round ITV presenter Bradley Walsh "surprised" the nonagenarian actress and took her to the Tower Ballroom at Blackpool to shoot the breeze. Actually a charming reflection on the decades she's spent on the soap, and Blackpool had personal memories of her parents too. They even had a lil dance.
Arena - According to Beryl
Dull author Beryl Bainbridge wrote a book about Dr Samuel Johnson and so went to the site of the Thrale estate in That London to talk about it, and ask bemused locals about a blue plaque that mentions him. Amusingly, one is more impressed to meet Beryl than she is about connections to Johnson. I've never read any of her books, either.