glenn-aylett Reviews

Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?: Strangers on a Train (1973) Season 1, Episode 1

The Likely Lads return better than ever

[9/10 · 10 January 2023]

6 years after the highly popular Likely Lads finished and Bob and Terry were back for a sequel that was even better than the original. Bob has moved up in the worlld: good career, car, engaged to Thelma, new house. Terry meanwhile has spent 5 or 6 years in the army( the last of the original series show him joiining up) and has returned to civvy street with a mysterious leg injury and no job. Both men accidentally meet up in a train compartment when the lights go off and after a few minutes realise who each other is.

Strangers On A Train was a great way to reintroduce The Likely Lads as ti shows how Bob and Terry have drifted apart and how society has changed since Terry joined up. While Terry thinks everyone has been having a swinging time while he was away, the only things that have changed in their circle of friends is Bob getting engaged and Cloughy opening a newsagents and BBC 2 starting, although Terry is quick to remind Bob this had opened before he joined the army.

There are some great scenes through the episode such as Terry being chatted up by a gay steward on the train, Terry unexpectedly appearing at the end to Thelma's digust at Newcastle station when Bob misses the train, and Terry tactlessly slagging off Thelma in front of Bob, referring to her as opening a perfume factory on her backside

All in all, a great way to bring back The Likely Lads for the seventies and in later episofes we see how Terry struggles to move with the times and hold down a job, while Bob beomes a fully fledged member of the lower lower middle middle to quote Terry. Fittingly Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads won a Bafta in 1974.

Love Island (2015– )

Drivel of the highest order

[1/10 · 2 January 2023]

The celebrity version in the noughties was bad enough and was cancelled after two series, but must have made an impression on someone at ITV as a new version with members of the general public was commissioned in 2015.

I can't see what the appeal is of watching a dozen fame osbessed idiots trying to pull each other, arguing, crying and lounging around in a villa. Twice a year Love Island is shown on ITV2 and bizarrely 2 million people seem to like this braindead rubbish and want to appear, thinking they can become rich and famous.

Sorry I saw fifteen minutes of Love Island and that was enough for me. It's a shame while budgets for programmes like comedies have been slashed, ITV can waste millions on this trash.

No Time to Die (2021)

An unexpected twist at the end

[8/10 · 2 January 2023]

For all Daniel Craig has been a decent Bond, and Skyfall was the best Bond movie since the Connery era, I've found him to be short on laughs, personality and charm, while playing a very physical and tough Bond in the mold of Sean Connery. However, like the other 007s, Craig's swansong wasn't his best.

No Time To Die had brilliant action scenes, the chase in the forest and the scenes in Havana were pure class, Blofeld is finally eliminated( we assume), Bond is shown as more sensitive such as in his relationship with Madeleine Swann and her daughter, and the female 007 who replaced Boind when he temporarily retires is an interest development. However, the plot is rambling, the villain. Safin is fairly weak and boring, and Bond could do with a proper Bond girl instead of being a surrogate husband to Dr Swann. Also the twist at the end makes you wonder if this could be the end of the Bond franchise.

I would say watch No Time To Die to see a more sensistive side to Bond, a few uiexpected twists to the story and for the excellent chase scenes and special effects, just don't expect it to be a masterpiece like Skyfall. Also I still can't get the homage to On Her Majesty's Secret Service, whose theme music appears in the background in the scenes in London.

Angels (1975–1983)

Quite hard hitting for its time

[7/10 · 8 May 2022]

Angels was a long running BBC drama concerning the lives and loves of a group of student nurses in the seventies and eighties. It was originally a 50 minute drama, but adapted to a twice a week style soap format in 1979, although it only ran for part of the year. Quite successful, Angels attracted 12 million viewers at times and made stars of Fiona Fullerton and Kathy Apanowicz( Mrs Richard Whiteley). Also the drama was an inspiration for Casualty,

Angels was quite a hard hitting and controversial show as it portrayed storylines such as a nurse becoming an alcoholic and receiving little help for her problem, interracial relationships, nurses having affairs with doctors, and the problems the NHS faced at the time. Kathy Apanowicz was brlliant as the tough as nails Northern nurse, Rose Butchins, who often riled her superiors and wasn't very popular with the other nurses.

However, for all Angels could be a gripping show at times, it was cheaply made( being mostly done in a studio with some cheap looking sets), the last series developed a political slant with some poorer characters, and the BBC pulled the plug in 1983 as Angels was losing viewers.

I would encourage viewers to check out the DVDs of the early series, as the characterisations are good( Fiona Fullerton is on top form as a posh nurse), but the soap type years are patchy in quality .later on.

Steptoe and Son Ride Again (1973)

Hilarious

[9/10 · 29 December 2021]

My brother loaned me the DVD of Steptoe and Son Ride Again as an alternative to the boring Christmas Day television and the whole film was hilarious from start to finish and as good as the BBC series.

The plot concerns the Steptoes having to buy a new horse as their cart horse has become lame due to accidentally being transported to York in a removal lorry and Harold having to take the horse and cart back to London( a hilarious scene early on). Instead of buying a new horse, Harold ends up buying a short sighted greyhound from a local gangster for £ 80 that is supposed to make the Steptoes rich. However, when the greyhound fails to win and the Steptoes owe the gangster money with the threat of violence, Albert fakes his death to claim £ 1000 in life insurance.

Steptoe And Son Ride Again made me laugh from start to finish. There is a hilarious scene where Harold is seduced by Diana Dors, only to find her dead husband lying in bed, and he makes a very quick escape. The scenes at Albert's wake where people seem almost glad he is dead, Harold going to the wrong funeral, and Albert coming back from the dead as he is being buried left me in stitches. Also Milo O Shea is on top form as an alcoholic doctor who is conned into signing Albert's death certificate and the greyhound is a star in its own right, running riot in a park and taking off during a race at White City.

While many sitcom spin offs from the seventies were poor, this one is a classic and is worth watching as Harry H Corbett and Wilfrid Brambell shine again as the Steptoes.

Ridley Road (2021)

A clever drama

[9/10 · 31 October 2021]

I really enjoyed Ridley Road and a sign after the COVID 19 disruption the BBC is making drama you want to watch, and with an original subject, the clashes between Jews in the East End of London and neo Nazis.( Colin Jordan and his National Socialist Movement did exist for real in the sixties),

While part of the first episode was slow, the story started to really pick up when Jewish hairdresser, Vivienne Epstein, played convincingly by little known Agnes O Grady, finds her boyfriend has infiltrated the NSM and is persuaded to join him. Dying her hair blonde and turning up at Jordan's headquarters, she offers her support to the NSM and Jordan allows her to join.

A well acted drama, Rory Kinnear plays the part of Jordan quite chillingly and Gillian Taylforth is excellent as one of the Jews fighting the NSM. Also the NSM is shown as a ragbag of misfits, boot boys and fanatics like Jordan who are prepared to kill people and resort to terrorism when they bomb a Jewish organisation. Colin and Vivienne are finally outed in the last episode: Colin is beaten up and taken to a remote location to be shot, but manages to persuade a misguided young Nazi to let him go, while Jordan kidnaps Vivienne on a train when he finds she has stolen documents about the NSM's weapons stash and paramilitary training. She is saved when Jordan starts attacking her when she tries to escape and a group of men pull him away and he is arrested.

No real gripes about Ridley Road, as the characterisations are good, just watch past the first rather slow thirty minutes and enjoy a drama that is based on true events. Out of interest, Colin Jordan, the so called world Fuhrer, was jailed in 1962 for real for setting up a paramilitary organisation and jailed again in 1968 for stirring up racial hatred.

Ridley Road does have a happy ending as Vivienne's parents pay for her emigrate to Israel and she is joined by Colin on the plane.

Spitting Image (2020–2021)

Halloween Special

[5/10 · 31 October 2021]

Spitting Image was one of my favourite comedy shows from the eighties, a clever series with grotesque puppets of politicians and celebs of the day being voiced by professional voice artists and often being very amusing. I switched on the main ITV channel( the current series is on Britbox) to see what the Halloween special would be like.

I wasn't very impressed. The puppets are excellent and the show is very topical as ever, it was just the voices and the hunour were a big let down. Spitting Image did have some really funny moments, such as Adele being trick or treated and Nicola Sturgeon headbutting her political opponents, just the rest seemed laboured and the f word was used too much( this was never used in the original). The whole Elton John celebrity mystery was completely drawn out and boring, the Ronaldo in the cage sketch was bizarre, and the Daniel Craig impersonation was terrible. ( He's not an American).

I can see why ITV has limited Spitting Image to Britbox, it's just not good enough for their main channel and while they have tried really hard with the puppets, it's not enough to watch a whole series.

The Longest Day (1962)

A great war epic

[9/10 · 30 October 2021]

The Longest Day is a great epic war film, concerning the D Day,landings, and examining the Normandy landings from both sides and with a stellar cast who deliver the goods. John Wayne is excellent as a tough 82nd Airborne officer, Kenneth More puts on a brilliant turn as a stiff upper lip British officer on the Normandy beach with his bulldog for company, and Richard Burton is on top form as an injured RAF officer( " the few are getting fewer"). Also Sean Connery appears as a private and Gert Frobe, later to play opposite Connery in Goldfinger, plays a German soldier who is one of the first to spot the Allied invasion.

What I do like about The Longest Day is the authenticity. The Germans are played by real Germans speaking in their own language, not Americans affecting bad German accents, and some are shown as quite human, realising that they are losing the war, and not blind Nazis Also amid all the fighting, the civilians sometimes appear, in one scene a group of nuns who refuse to go indoors, and others coming out to cheer on the Allies, again true to life.

Another thing I like is while Hollywood had mostly gone over to colour by 1962, The Longest Day was filmed in black and white. This was to reflect the newsreel films of D Day, which were in black and white, and to add to the documentary style.

Only criticism I have of The Longest Day is a few of the guest stars are below par, the singer Paul Anka is weak, but otherwise this is an excellent war film and a great way to pass an afternoon.

The Dick Francis Thriller: The Racing Game (1979–1980)

Unfairly ignored

[8/10 · 30 October 2021]

The Racing Game.was a six part series on ITV based on the Sid Halley character in the horse racing novels by Dick Francis. Halley is a retired jockey, forced out of the sport by injury, who decides to become a private eye investigating race fixing, horse doping and theft in the racing industry. Quite a unique subject for a crime drama and for all Mike Gwilym wasn;t that great in the lead role, the stories were entertaining and Halley's false hand comes in useful in the fight scenes. Also he is aided by one time judo champion, Chico Barnes, who speaks in an amusing cockney accent, and there are some decent guest stars like Iain Cuthbertson and Jan Francis.

However, The Racing Game suffered from some rotten luck and didn't return after its first series. Firstly, it was held up by a strike at ITV and secondly was shown on a Saturday night against strong opposition on BBC One, so ratings were never very high. It did end up being repeated in the afternoons in some ITV regions before vanishing forever after 1981.

Had this show been given a better slot, a better leading actor and been promoted better by ITV, The Racing Game could have been a big success as the stories were good, it was quite racy in places and the subject was original.

Fawlty Towers: The Psychiatrist (1979) Season 2, Episode 2

My favourite Fawlty Towers episode

[10/10 · 16 May 2021]

Repeated recently on BBC One, the brilliance of Fawlty Towers and the timeless humour( a badly run hotel owned by a snobbish, short tempered buffoon) has me in stitches every time. Amazing for a show that first aired in 1975, when many others from the seventies have dated badly.

The Psychiatrists is my favourite episode because it is a classic bedroom farce. Basil takes an immediate dislike to a playboy type in classic seventies disco clothing( medallion, open necked shirt, tight pants) who strikes up a rapport with his wife and manages to smuggle his girl into his room. Also Basil is put on edge when a pair of psychiatrists book into the hotel and is terrified they start analysing him.

The Pyschiatrists is hilarious from start to finish, with the most memorable scenes being Basil getting confused when the psychiatrists mention holidays and he thinks they are talking about sex, the scene where he falls off the ladder while trying to spy on the playboy, and where he accidentally gropes an Australian guest to the disgust of Sybil. No wonder the psychiatrists say there is enough for a conference when they see Basil running around, a very upset Australian girl and Sybil in a state of fury.

While all the Fawlty Towers episodes are comedy gold, except maybe the slightly slower The Anniversary, The Psychiatrists is outstanding as it is hilarious from start to finish and Sybil finally gives Basil the perfect insult after being referred to as a nest of vipers and a bouffanted puff adder in previous episodes when she calls him a brilliantined stick insect.

The Day of the Jackal (1973)

Ronald Pickup as the forger

[9/10 · 16 May 2021]

I know most reviews are about how Edward Fox played the Jackal as an enigmatic assassin whose true identity was never known, he is buried at the end of the film in an unmarked grave and the person whose identity he stole earlier in the film is alive and well in London, but the best role among the supporting cast is that of Ronald Pickup as the Italian forger.

Pickup, a classically trained actor who could play anyone from the Archbishop of Canterbury in The Crown to a character in Coronation St, really shone in his role as a forger who is entrusted with providing The Jackal with forged ID, driving documents and an altered appearance. The forger, whose name is never revealed, lives in a squalid apartment block in Genoa, which he finds ideal for his work as it makes him more anonymous. Also suggested in the film, he makes the bulk of his living from pornography, as his flat contains a photo processing lab and prints of naked women

A thoroughly dislikeable character who stands out in The Day Of The Jackal, the forger is a shifty, greedy and sleazy individual whose greasy hair, black shirt and flowery tie make him stand out, and his mention of trying to get out of military service comes as no surprise. Also his dingy and decrepit flat with its pornography makes him look even sleazier. Originally demanding £ 300( about £ 5000 in today's money) and the Jackal's original passport and driver's licence to carry out his work, the Jackal warns him that he wants the originals back and never to mention his work. However,on a second visit, the forger's greed takes over and he forgets that the Jackal is a highly trained killer with or without weapons and he demands another £ 1000 for the Jackal's original passport and drivers licence. Suddenly the Jackal after tiring of the blackmail and the forger's sarcastic comments about dealing with an English gentlemen breaks his neck with a karate blow and dumps him in a casket.

To me, these scenes and Pickup's role as a dubious criminal who is out of his league and is dispensed with by an unemotional Jackal are the best in the film. Obviously The Day Of The Jackal is a fantastic thriller, based partly on true events( there was an attempt on President De Gaulle's life in 1962 in real life by French Algerian refugees and their sympathisers), and it truly deserved its Oscar, but I think without Ronald Pickup, it would have been poorer.

Harry Brown (2009)

Possibly the best vigilante film ever made

[9/10 · 25 April 2021]

Michael Caine was in his seventies when he made Harry Brown, older even than Charles Bronson when he made his last Death Wish film, which adds to the appeal of Harry Brown, a violent revenge film where an old man avenges the murder of his best friend and takes on a violent gang in a run down council estate in London. ( The semi derelict Heygate Estate in Southwark was used for the location filming).

From the first scenes, where a gang member on a motorbike guns down a woman pushing a pram to prove his toughness, to the final scene where Harry Brown kills the gang leader and his uncle in the pub, the action rarely lets up in the film. Harry, a former Marine and a fearsome opponent even in his seventies, kills an armed mugger on a river bank, tortures a gang member for more information about his dead friend, buys a pistol from two drug dealers and then kills them in their flat, and shoots another drug dealer in his car before the final confrontation in the pub where Harry is almost killed by the pub landlord but manages to gun him down and the police kill the gang leader.

Harry Brown works for British audiences because the estate where Harry's best friend is murdered after confronting a teenage gang is probably true to many of the worst council estates in the inner cities, where gang crime is rife, teenagers hood up to hide their identities, and people are scared to go out after dark. For all this is a very dark and violent film( the scene where Harry buys the pistol from two stoned drug dealers who have a teenage girl as some kind of sex slave is particularly disturbing), in many ways Harry Brown is true to life and the area featured in the film is close to where Michael Caine grew up. Also you end up rooting for him as he wipes out the hoodies and drug dealers,and the film ends on a happy note with violent crime massively reduced on the council estate after the gang is defeated and the subway where they hang out being safe to use.

The Outsider (1948)

An interesting insight into an English public school

[8/10 · 24 April 2021]

Rarely seen on British television now, The Guinea Pig is an early Richard Attenborough film, where the 23 year old actor manages to convincingly play a schoolboy from ages 14 to 18, in the same way he played a teenage gangster in Brighton Rock.

The Guinea Pig is the story of a working class boy from Walthamstow, who wins a scholarship to a top public school as part of a post war experiment by the Labour government, initially has a very rough time due to his background, but gradually settles in to school life and ends up going to Cambridge.

The main reason for watching The Guinea Pig is to see how public schools operated in the less liberal era of the 1940s. Jack Read( Attenborough) is made to act as a servant for a sixth former( a practice known as fagging) and caned for burning his toast, again true to life in many public schools. Also Read is later caned for daring to see a local girl, as this is against school rules, and the whole place is hidebound by ancient rules and customs, such as bowing to a statue of the school's founder. Unsettling and bizarre, this was how many English public schools operated until they became more liberal in the 1970s.

I would say watch The Guinea Pig more as a period piece than a source of entertainment as the theme music throughout is ponderous and heavy going, some of the characterisations are hammy upper crust( I say old chap) and it is very old. However, the happy ending, when Read is accepted into Cambridge and an understanding young master falls in love, is a nice touch and the film is one of Attenborough's less well known but good roles.

Andy Pandy (1950–1957)

Andy Pandy's coming to play

[8/10 · 10 April 2021]

This 15 minute programme featuring Andy Pandy, a marionette based on a small child, and his friends Teddy and Looby Loo kept generations of small children entertained in Britain for nearly 30 years( including the author). OK the programme is old fashioned now, particularly the 1950s shows, with its very upper crust narrator and singer, but the concept of small children being encouraged to sing along and act out scenes with the marionettes was unique when Andy Pandy started in 1950. Also the programme formed part of the long running and very popular Watch With Mother strand of programming on BBC 1 in the afternoons.

Andy Pandy was remade in 1970 in colour as some of the orginal programmes were worn out, and the new version, made at the Abbey Road Studios, had a bigger budget and the narrator sounded a little less formal. It's this version I remember with Andy in a blue romper suit and a mildly psychedelic background, but the concept of children singing along and playing along to the show continued.

Out of interest, the Andy Pandy puppet was based on a very young Paul Atterbury( a presenter of Antiques Roadshow) and Mr Atterbury is the owner of some of the marionettes from the 1950s shows.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)

For the last 40 minutes only

[6/10 · 2 April 2021]

I've always considered On Her Majesty's Secret Service a fairly dull Bond film that drags for the first two thirds of the film, with little action and too much talking, and in parts is like a love story between Bond and Tracey. Also George Lazenby is poor as Bond, with a wooden delivery, although the homage to earlier Bond films is nice when he finds artefacts from earlier films in his desk.

However, OHMSS really hots up in the last 40 minutes with the stock car race, the battle at Blofeld's mountain retreat and the fight between Bond and Blofeld on the ski run being as good as anything in a Connery film. Also Diana Rigg has elements of her Avengers girl era when she convincingly fights off a hernchman and knocks him out.

Then to me the main reason to watch is the tragic ending when Bond marries Tracey and she is gunned down by Irma Bunt in a passing car. Bond for once is shown with feelings and has tears in his eyes as he cradles his dead wife in his arms, something that has never been seen since. Indeed, the teaser in Diamonds Are Forever is based around Bond seeking revenge for Tracey's death.

On the whole, though, OHMSS is a below par offering with Lazenby's portrayal as Bond, at least earlier in the film, being weak and the film takes a long time to get into its stride.

Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986)

Saturday night fun

[7/10 · 21 February 2021]

Police Academy 3 isn't as funny as the first two films, the running gags like the tangoing men in the Blue Oyster Bar were becoming tiresome, but it still made me laugh on a winter's Saturday night with little else to watch on the television.

The plot concerns the city, never specified( actually the bulk of the filming was done in Toronto), having to close one of the two police academies due to budget cutbacks. One is run by the amiable, hapless Commandant Lassard from the first two films, and the other by the nasty Lieiutenat Mauser from Police Academy 2, who wants to force out Lassard's academy by whatever means possible, including a hilarious scene where two of his cadets sabotage a police computer.

Like the first two films, the sight gags and regular characters make Police Academy 3 worth watching, but in this film, Zed, the gang leader from the second film, joins up and also the nerdish Mr Sweetchuck from the first two films, leading to some hilarious sight gags where they end up hitting each other by mistake. Also a Japanese cadet with karate skills is good to watch as he makes an unlikely partner for the fearsome Lieutenant Callahan and comes out with sub Bruce Lee comments.

My favourite scene is the boat chase at the end where Lassard's cadets have yo rescue the state governor and Lassard from a gang of armed rrobbers and despite crashing numerous jetskis and speedboats managed to rescue the governor and see their academy saved. Also the inept Mauser and his hilariously bad deputy Proctor are nowhere to be seen, having stolen a rowing boat and sunk it.

On the whole, Police Academy 3 is a bit of harmless fun, ideal for spending two hours, and is the last decent film in the series, as the last three became less and less funny.

Superman II (1980)

Some sequels are as good ad the original

[10/10 · 30 January 2021]

Quite often movie sequels can be poor compared with the original, but not Superman II. Yes we all know the directors changed during filming and there are differences between the two versions, but who cares, this is a seriously good film where the action never stops and the main characters are present and correct. Also Superman not only had a double dealing Lex Luthor to deal with, but the three villains from the first film who were banished from Krypton and end up on earth and have the same powers as Superman. In particular, Terence Stamp is fantastic as the evil General Zod, who wants to enslave earth with his henchmen Ursa and Non, and finds a willing collaborator in the form of Lex Luthor.

Also Superman II has an interesting plot twist where Clark/ Superman falls into a fire and is unhurt and finally reveals to Lois Lane that Clark Kent is a disguise for Superman and as he wants to marry her( a human), he has to relinquish his superpowers. However, he forgets this in a Mid West diner when he stands up to an aggressive trucker and is beaten up. Meanwhile, with Superman out of action, the renegade Kryptonians rampage through America, crushing any human resistance to them and take over the White House and declare themselves rulers of Earth. Not surprisingly, Lex Luthor appears to offer his services to them in return for being offered Australia as his reward.

From start to finish, Superman II is a top drawer action and superhero film, with the millions of dollars spent on the special effects and action scenes very well spent and even now, haven't dated. Again the set designs like the Fortress Of Solitude are fantastic and the final battle between Superman and his enemies, where he tricks them and they lose their power, is fantastic.

I can honestly say this film is a cinematic great and well regarded now and also has a fantastic soundtrack by John Williams. Superman II was the highpoint of the series as III was OK, but was too much like a comedy and lost its edge in places, while IV was a total mess and ended the franchise.

Superman (1978)

The best film of the seventies

[10/10 · 30 January 2021]

I've seen Superman numerous times since it was first released in England in 1979 and never tire of the film/ I( Also it was the first film I was allowed to see unaccompanied, so has another reason to watch for me). In a decade where the film industry was dominated by cynical anti heroes, Superman stood out as he was a real hero with no personality flaws.

I think the main reason I enjoy Superman is for someone who was born after the 1950s television series and only had very vague memories of the late 1960s cartoon series, it was a perfect introduction to how Kal El from Krypton became Clark Kent and Superman, and I enjoy the early years in Smallvillle where he grows up and develops his special powers, such as racing against an express train and lifting his parents truck to replace a wheel.

While I won't go into great detail about the plot, as most fans will know this( Lex Luthor buys up worthless land in the Californian desert and steals an ICBM to wipe out the west coast of California, so his land will soar in value), it is an idea typical of self styled Lex Luthor, the self named criminal genius and recurring foe of Superman. Also Luthor is played brilliantly by Gene Hackman, who portrays Luthor as a witty, sharp dressed and very intelligent master criminal who thinks nothing of killing millions of people to prove his criminal genius and enrich himself..

Indeed Superman is brilliantly cast throughout. The then little known Christooher Reeve switches effortlessly from his role as the bumbling, hapless Clark Kent to a very convincing Superman. ( Reeve trained for several months under Dave Prowse to achieve the correct physique for the role). Margot Kidder, again not very well known in 1978, is excellent as Lois Lane, portraying her as a fearless, tough and liberated woman( similar to the comic books) who nevertheless falls for Clark/ Superman. Special mentions have to be given to some of the star names in the film, such as Marlon Brando as Superman's father on Krypton, Glenn Ford as his stepfather and Ned Beatty's role as Luthor's inept henchman, Otis, who adds some comedy to the film.

However, the main reason for watching are the special effects and the sets. The earthquake scenes in California, where a dam bursts and the Golden Gate Bridge starts to collapse, are as good as anything from the CGI era. Then Lex Luthor's hideout under Metropolis deserves a special mention. An abandoned railway station similar to the former Pennsylvania Station or the Great Hall at the old Euston station in London that serves as Luthor's headquarters, the set designers and craftsmen at Pinewood Studios really worked hard to make this set look authentic. No surprises when Superman was nominated for an Oscar for its special effects and set design as these are the best things in the film and have never dated, even after 42 years.

Overall in terms of casting, plot, special effects and set design, Superman has never been beaten, until a sequel was released in 1980 that was just as good and followed on from the early scenes in Superman, where General Zod and his two followers are banished from Krypton for treason and end up on earth.

Bad Move (2017–2018)

No wonder ITV stopped making sitcoms

[1/10 · 2 January 2021]

ITV has never had a good track record with sitcoms compared with the BBC and only a handful of their comedies have ever succeeded. Bad Move is the last of a long line of ITV sitcoms, since the broadcaster has announced it has no more new comedies planned, and I can see why after seeing two episodes of Bad Move. Like the worst of their eighties sitcoms, this is completely unfunny and while the idea of a middle class couple moving from London to the country sounded promising, there were almost no jokes in the two episodes I saw. Even the much maligned Green Green Grass with a similar concept did have some funny moments.

It does seem with Bad Move being axed after two series, this could be the end of ITV comedy, as Ant and Dec are far more profitable and amuse millions more than Bad Move's very lame humour. A shame as this could have been a good comedy show with good characters, but seemed to consist of Jack Dee growling and scowling like he usually does and the rural characters being like stereotypes.

The Early Bird (1965)

Still quite amusing but dated

[7/10 · 2 January 2021]

No one can say The Early Bird is Monty Python or Norman Wisdom is Peter Sellers and this film does look cheap and dated now, with the Consolidated Dairies building looking totally faked, but the film isn't without merit as Norman Wisdom is on form as a milkman who causes chaos wherever he goes.

The plot is classic Norman Wisdom playing the little guy standing up to a bigger opponent, in this case a milkman for a small dairy that Consolidated Dairies want to force out of business. Scenes such as the destruction of the dairy's headquarters, Wisdom eating an apple containing horse tranquilisers and hallucinating, and the scene with the motorised lawn mower are classic and timeless slapstick that owe quite a lot to Jerry Lewis. Also The Early Bird was Wisdom's first colour film and sadly his last major success.

Not one of Wisdom's best films, but a one that can always raise a laugh and has a great ending, even if it's cheaply made.

Only Fools and Horses: A Touch of Glass (1982) Season 2, Episode 7

The episode that established Only Fools And Horses

[9/10 · 2 January 2021]

Only Fools And Horses wasn't an overnight success, ratings were low for the first series and it was only by word of mouth that viewers were starting to watch the show by series two. People who had taken up the recommendation had found that this was a very amusing and very original sitcom about a dodgy market trader and his gormless brother and grandfather trying to get rich.

A Touch Of Glass is the first of a long line of classic Fools episodes that everyone remembers. I still find the scene where the Trotters offer to clean ans repair the vintage chandeliers for an aristocrat hilarious, as Del thinks some Windowlene will do the job and then Grandad accidentally destroys one of the chandeliers, forcing the Trotters to make a sharp exit in their Reliant van. Also Del's new business venture of trying to sell toy cats that sing How Much Is That Doggy is, as ever, a complete flop and the cats look especially cheap and nasty. like most of Del's dodgy goods.

Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

Brutal but fairly true to the real life Bonnie and Clyde

[9/10 · 2 January 2021]

I watched Bonnie and Clyde for the first time since the nineties and for a film made in 1967, when Hollywood was just embracing the permissive society, the level of violence is enormous for a sixties film and on a par with a war film. Yet this is how Bonnie and Clyde were, a pair of extremely violent bank robbers who graduated from holding up small stores to attacking banks and killing anyone who got in their way. ( In real life they killed 13 people, four of them people who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, rather than police). While you sympathise with them at first, Clyde is a prisoner who had a terrible time in prison and Clyde is someone who wants a better life, they soon descend into a pair of callous killers, aided by Clyde's wannabe brother and a simple minded mechanic who fixes their stolen vehicels.

I think Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway took the roles well and portray the couple as a pair of twisted lovers who are united in crime, and Gene Hackman plays the role of Buck Barrow quite well, as someone who is a thrillseeker with a hatred of the system. Also look out for Denver Pyle, later best known as Uncle Jessie in The Dukes of Hazzard, as a Texas Ranger who is humiliated by the gang and is determined to catch them. Also the end scene, reasonably true to real events, where Bonnie and Clyde are ambushed and shot to pieces while gazing into each others eyes is chilling and a brilliant ending.

On the whole a great film that really established Faye Dunaway as a major stat and the cars, clothes and music are very accurate for the 1930s.

Eggheads (2003– )

Sad to see Eggheads cancelled

[8/10 · 2 January 2021]

I know there are too many quiz and game shows in the teatime slots on television, and Eggheads had run its course after 16 years, but the show was a straightforward 30 minute quiz show where pub quiz teams took on a team of expert quizzers, including Millionaire winner Judith Keppel and the eccentric and amusing CJ De Mooi. Unlike the flashing lights, loud music and overbearing hosts om other quiz shows, Eggheads was a straightforward quiz show with no gimmicks and a likeable presenter in the form of Jeremy Vine. I am sad to see it go as it provided a decent alternative to the news and was well liked by the viewers.

The Sound of Music (1965)

A great musical with some really good artistic licence

[9/10 · 1 January 2021]

I first saw The Sound Of Music when I was 9 nine years old, have the album and know all the songs really well and it's still a fantastic musical that's beautifully made and loved across the world. Yet would it be such a good film if there wasn't so much artistic licence over the Von Trapp story.

Firstly Georg Von Trapp didn't live in a mansion with servants and an enormous fortune, but for all he came from a wealthy aristocratic family was short of money and lived in a run down villa in a suburb of Salzburg. Secondly, while this to me is the most exciting part of the film, the family didn't hide from the Nazis in an abbey and then escape at night to Switzerland and then to America. The truth is rather more boring, while Georg Von Trapp was approached by the Nazis to take a commission in their Navy, there was no compulsion and the family left Austria of their own accord, although it is likely his dislike of Hitler could have caused him big trouble.

However, this would have made for a rather boring film and the changes to the Von Trapp story make The Sound of Music so much more entertaining.

The Masked Singer UK (2020– )

A unique concept, but yet another boring singing contest

[4/10 · 1 January 2021]

The Masked Singer is quite a unique concept, celebrities in daft outfits like bird suits and doctored speaking vloices, sing a popular hit and the judges have to guess who the singer is. Obviously a new spin on singing contests and fair play to ITV for finding something different that has reasonable viewing figures, but yet another long drawn out singing contest with a celebrity panel and second rate celebs as contestants. Can't they find something other than singing and zelebs to fill Saturday nights as these shows have become overkilled and tedious.