Royal Rumble: The Top 10 Eliminations

Good afternoon lady and gentle readers, as I type this the time is currently quarter to January and as is traditional at this time of year its time to send off the old year and welcome in the new one. In the WWE's case this is done by holding the Royal Rumble event with its centre piece being the 30 man Royal Rumble match.

As with most things this time of year the Royal Rumble match is a time for surprises, excitement and the occasional shock. However where most people will be talking about the entrants I'm going to be wetting your appetites by going back and examining some of the memorable eliminations. Being a battle royal elimination from the Royal Rumble is by being thrown over the top rope to the floor outside the ring.

Without further ado lets dip those shoulders and see whose eliminations make the top 10...

10. Sgt Slaughter 1992

Picture the scene, the 1992 Royal Rumble with the WWE title up for grabs. One year removed from his title win Sgt Slaughter is tasked with making Sid Justice look like a beast. Biding his time until Ric Martel gets away from the turnbuckle Sid whips him across the ring into the opposing buckle. Slaughter crosses the ring so fast he breaks the time barrier sending him over the buckles into the steel ring post in a way that has never been since - every time I see this elimination its like my eyes are lying to me.


9. Alex Riley 2011

"YOU ****ED UP"

"YOU ****ED UP"

Who of us doesn't enjoy a good botch once in a while? Alex Riley looked to have the world set up before him going into 2011. In the role of protege to the Miz who was the reigning champion, Riley was given the task of helping to eliminate John Cena from the Rumble and from challenging the Miz. However after going over the top rope and doing an apron spot he accidentally fell of. I **** you not, go and look at the tape and keep your ears peeled for some classic Miz commentary when he thinks Riley is still in there.

8. Bushwhacker Luke 1991

Who can forget The Bushwackers, comic relief from the late 80's and early 90's mid card? Oh you may scoff but they were good value and in a Rumble where Rick Martel and Greg Valentine looked to be setting records for longevity Bushwhacker Luke famously whacked his way into the ring and got whacked out four memorable seconds later.

7. Greg Valentine and Rik Martel 1994

  

Ladies and gentlemen we have another botch and its another botch that screwed up two eliminations. We're approaching the mid 90's and the WWE's in a state of change, while building up new names Greg Valentine gets a new contract to help put over young up and coming stars. In another apron spot, Greg inadvertently  falls to the floor and his expression is hysterical. However counterpointed to this is the look of shock on Rick Martel's face, as it becomes blatantly obvious that Valentine was meant to eliminate him. Rick then turns around spots Tatanka in the ropes, charges at him and dives over him to elimination leaving a very confused looking Tatanka. 

6. Sabu 2007

Think ECW think tables and this is no different, a memorable elimination from 2007 saw Kane the Big Red Machine choke slam Sabu over the top rope through a conveniently set up table.

5. The Great Khali 2010

We all know the story of David and Goliath but in this case it was Davina and Goliath... actually it was Beth Phoenix and The Great Khali. Phoenix was making a rare female entry into the Royal Rumble and upon entering found the Punjabi Playboy. In an act of chivalry Khali would lift her over the rope onto the apron and insist that she eliminate herself, however he was blindsided by a kiss (we've all been there) and while in shock Phoenix pulled him over the rope and eliminated him. The lesson from this is beware of a woman's kiss... and a woman pulling you over some ring ropes over a fifteen foot drop.

4. Ted DiBiase 1992

We're walking into one of the Royal Rumbles biggest mysteries. Allow me to set the scene, its 1992 and for the first time ever the WWE Championship is up for grabs. In at number two in the Rumble is Ted 'Million Dollar Man' DiBiase, a heel whose always made his opponents look good, had experience of carrying lesser skilled workers in a Rumble match and he gets eliminated within two minutes. Even watching this today there's a feeling that something wasn't quite right. Maybe he was hurt, maybe it was to put over that anything could happen in the next sixty minutes - we may never know...

3. The British Bulldog 1995

Possibly the most famous Rumble elimination of all time, Shaun Michaels and Davey Boy "The British Bulldog" Smith had started that years Royal Rumble and outlasted the likes of Aldo Montoya and Mantaur (shudders) to be the final two. Bulldog throws Michaels over the ropes - his music hits - "SWEET MOTHER OF SASHA BANKS THE BULLDOG HAS WON THE RUMBLE!"Then Michaels walks back in and eliminates Bulldog from behind. One of the best heel Rumble wins, one of the best heel moments and an elimination that will be remembered for years.

2. Daniel Bryan 2015

Going into the 2015 Daniel Bryan was coming back from an injury and having headlined the previous years Wrestlemania he was over. I mean really over, so over the word doesn't exist to describe how over he was, when we eventually invent that word it will still be an understatement. When he came out at number 10 the fans went nuts, when he was eliminated the fans went insane and turned on the event. This is the epitome of a booking decision killing an event. We all know the aftermath, the crowd booed the rest of the Rumble, the fans would never forgive Roman Reigns and for the next year the WWE universe was stuck with someone they didn't care about in the main event picture for the next two Wrestlemanias.

1. Shaun Michaels 2010

However lets end on an up, an elimination that was months in the buildup and helped build up a match for Wrestlemania. The previous year The Undertaker and Shaun Michaels had stolen the show at Wrestlemania and Michaels wanted another shot at The Undertakers undefeated streak. After Undertaker turned him down Michaels was left with one option, win the Rumble and challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship which was held by The Undertaker. Rest assured in every ones mind from the smarks to the kids everyone thought Michaels was going to win. Making it to the final three Michaels was eliminated by Batista, the elimination was in slow motion, the heel taking advantage, Michaels grasping for the rope to stay in and his break down after being eliminated is what wrestling is all about, telling a story and making it as dramatic as possible. Michaels would get more and more desperate for that second match and this Royal Rumble moment helped to make it.

Rogue One

Good evening lady and gentle reader, this morning I took a trip to the cinema and as I enjoy reading the odd issue of X-men every now and then as well as enjoying the X-men films I opted to see my favourite mutant from the deep south Rogue in her first solo film Rogue One. It must be good I thought as the title implies they're already planning a sequel!

Save your money readers as this film is blatantly false advertising, Rogue isn't even in it - Wolverine isn't in it and Marvel put him in everything. This is without doubt the worst piece of false advertising in a film title since The Never Ending Story. Utterly disappointing - no Rogue, no X-men and at one point Darth Vader turned up, what that was about I've no bloody idea.

In short readers if you fancy a yuletide trip to the cinema go and see something else, in hindsight I wish I'd gone to see that new Star Wars film instead.

My Favourite Christmas Song

What ho ladies and gentle readers, I hope I find you in fine yuletide festive frollicks as we enter December. A subject that always comes up this time of year is the annual debate "whats your favourite Christmas song?" Well I'm nailing my colours to the mast, you can keep your Wham's, Roy Wood and East 17. My favourite Christmas song is Christmas Wrapping by The Waitresses. Do you agree? Do you disagree? If so why not reply with your favourite, meanwhile for those of you who've never heard it heres the youtube video...

Email, Text but not face to Face

So earlier this week I got some work related news telling me when my contract at work was up. However instead of being pulled aside and someone saying in private "Just to let you know your contract is up in two months and we are not going to renew" all the temps got a shoddy group email.

I for one am not happy with this, I think its unprofessional and shows a distinct lack of character and class. I have had a rant with the person who sent this email, her manager and my managers manager for a lack of communication. In the age of multi media, social media and communication I find it rather bizarre that professionals (and recruitment consultants) can get communication so wrong.

The Big Finnish Catch-Up: October 2016

For those of you new to this section of the blog, I started listening to the Big Finish Doctor Who releases when they started back in 1999, getting them as they were released up to mid 2002 and release No 33 Neverland. At that time I left Uni and due to being a bit busy with life and what not I only heard one or two releases over the next few years. I started getting back into them around 2008 and was 6 years behind at that point. Due to wondering off into the Lost Doctor range and a relaxed listening pace I fell further behind. In order to catch up I'm listening to two releases a month (or more when its a 60 min single disc release, plus without seeing the cover or knowing anything about the story) and my mission to catch up continues;

Well I am absolutely kicking myself for thinking Charley was gone for good and not noticing the 'Trial' theme at the end of her last story. Very interesting things happen in this story but I found it hard to follow for the first half as I was in shock that Charley was back and had been saved by the Sixth Doctor. Its very intriguing stuff asking long term and short term questions, however like the new status quo with this TARDIS crew it feels uncomfortably distant 7/10.

Up next we venture into a more recent boxset - I should say I'm aware of the concept of this set however I don't know what villains/monsters are in it. So here we find Sylvestors Seventh Doctor taking on the villains from the first Christmas special the Sycorax. Decent little story which actually makes a good attempt to add some depth to this one off race villains however the acting is bloody awful and drags the production down 5/10.

We're now onto season 2 of the Eighth Doctor adventures and we're in new territory for me. The 8th Doctor and Lucie are in London but when exactly? This is jolly, fun fresh and light just what I needed after the previous story further up. Some interesting characters and perhaps one who may crop up again, snappy dialogue - fully recommended 8/10.

Its back to main range with the 7th Doctor, Ace and Hex - a team who haven't been around in some time and a firm favourite of mine. Its a comedy that is fairly amusing (and gets its best laugh in the first five minutes) but unlike some previous comedy stories in the range it doesn't embrace humour as much as other stories have and as a result feels more amusing than hysterical. Sylvester McCoy and Philip Olivier have the most success with the comedy on offer and genuinely feel like they're having fun. I found the story intriging and the choice reguarding the guest cast was very interesting. Its a 6/10 for me although if it had embraced the comedy a bit more it could easily have been more. 

I hope there isn't another gap until we see this team again as they are one of my favourite teams and my other favourites have recently been pulled apart. I'm aware that within the last ten or so stories Gary Russell has past the baton over to Nicholas Briggs and Nick is probably making the changes that he wants now he's a few stories in. I'm still in shock from the changes to range over the last few months; C'rizz has died, Erimem has left and Charley looked like she was leaving and has somehow ended up with a previous incarnation of the Doctor. Without doubt I've reached a time of great change in Big Finish, I think this section of the blog is at its best when changes I don't know about are happening and I hope you are enjoying this catch-up journey with me.

The Big Finish Catch-Up September 2016

For those of you new to this section of the blog, I started listening to the Big Finish Doctor Who releases when they started back in 1999, getting them as they were released up to mid 2002 and release No 33 Neverland. At that time I left Uni and due to being a bit busy with life and what not I only heard one or two releases over the next few years. I started getting back into them around 2008 and was 6 years behind at that point. Due to wondering off into the Lost Doctor range and a relaxed listening pace I fell further behind. In order to catch up I'm listening to two releases a month (or more when its a 60 min single disc release, plus without seeing the cover or knowing anything about the story) and my mission to catch up continues;

First up is the 8th Doctor and Charlie in the main range, what can I say? This story is so emotional, Charley has been an ever present part of the 8th Doctor stories since Paul McGann started with Big Finish. Despite the end of the previous story I didn't expect her to leave. At the start it genuinely feels like The Doctor has lost her and throughout the story it feels like he wins her back but events in the final act take an unexpected twist she's gone. I'd seen a poster advertising a spin-off range for her but this was only a few years back and I assumed she was safe for a number of years to come. The end looks to set up her up for a solo series and its such an unexpected set up and given a fondness for Charley I will seek it out at some point. 10/10 I haven't spoken about the story but its brilliant.

As you can see from the picture next up this month was the 5th Doctor, Peri and Erimem. Talk about an emotional breakdown two companions gone in two releases! Given this teams previous release Erimems exit was heavily hinted at but I thought it was going to be padded out - possibly with a story or two that looked like she was going to die only to survive at the last minute. Her exit does make sense, is on character and despite events in "Son of the Dragon" having a slight similar flavour I didn't see it coming. There's a lot going on in this story - a kind of sequel to the two televised stories featuring Peladon and as is fitting for the majority of the story the listener isn't sure who the good guys and bad guys are. There are lots of nods to the two TV stories and as a fan I think I enjoyed this more than a casual listener would - a lot of fan buttons were pressed! Easily this is 9/10 for me but for a casual listener I'd say give a few stories with this TARDIS crew a listen to first. It genuinely feels like Erimems story line has come to a natural conclusion and as a character looking back it feels like she's someone Big Finish have tried to do something different with 'The Council of Nicaea' and 'Son of the Dragon' being a case in point. 

With a heavy heart I say goodbye to these characters but equally I look forward to what and who comes next.

Hi, I've noticed you around...

Good afternoon ladies and gentle readers, after a read of Katy Reds recent blog (All Sweetness and Life - all the cool kids are reading it!) it prompted me to make a comment on twitter which lead to me deciding to do a blog about my dating life. You have been warned - you read on at your own risk...

Like most people I have dating profiles on line and this is how I meet most of the people I go out with. Being trans, most people who seem interested in me are men, who I'm not attracted to. Nothing personal to the men's I'm just not into you - although saying this doesn't appear to stop them offering to be the one who can 'convert me' or 'change my mind.' I have a nice little ' No Men' sticker on my profiles which is right at the top where they can see it. So in short anyone who might be interested in my pic and clicks on my profile knows who I'm into and not into.

Two years ago I got a message from someone called 'Julie' who after a few days worth of messages we decided to go out for a date. We'd meet in Cardiff on a Friday evening for a drink to see if we clicked and take things from there. Friday arrived and I caught the train to Cardiff, adding a few last minute touches along the way (note for future reference do not do your eye liner on public transport again). We were meant to meet outside of the entrance facing Margaret Street, after a five minute wait I gave her a ring to see if she was running late. She replied saying she was in the car park and could I make my way over to her, my alarm bells should have been ringing at this point but I gave her the benefit of the doubt - she may have wanted to try a bar on the bay and the car park was in that direction. I eventually found her car and got inside, on seeing her she was distinctly more mature than her picture suggested - I later found out the picture was from 1994, the first of many lies...

We drove off and after a few minutes of heading in an unfamiliar direction I asked where we were going. 'Home' she replied, OK - not what I expected but a few drinks and what not. During the car trip home she didn't speak much bar asking questions about me and answering little about herself. We pulled into her drive, on entering her house I noticed the front room light was on and asked who it was 'my husband Gordon was the reply.'

This was not what I'd signed up for...

She then asked if I wouldn't mind going upstairs as 'my makeup needed touching up' and that Gordon 'doesn't like it when the illusion is spoiled.' I headed to bathroom because understandably 'I needed to go.' After steadying myself, I decided I was in no harm and if worst came to the worst I'd leg it out of the door. I went down to the living room and was greeted by Julie who I now noticed in the light was wearing a leather dress and Gordon who not only was a good 20/25 years older than Julie but was wearing nothing but leather shorts. To sum up my date was a honey trap set up by some geriatric kinksters. It turned out that my conversations on line with Julie had really been with Gordon who was a trans admirer, Julie apparently wasn't really into me and spent the conversation glaring at me - this apparently was something she put up with for the sake of her marriage.

I politely asked for them to call me a taxi and was out of there ten minutes later I was out of there and have never looked back. I think you'll agree readers that this is one from the nightmare files.

Why I hate Sam Allardyce

Because the man and his football are boring beyond belief.

The DVD Archives: Star Trek Voyager Season 1

Good afternoon ladies and gentle readers, in my random DVD viewings I ventured onto season 1 of the Star Trek spin off Voyager season 1. So without further ado here's my opinion of the individual episodes:

Caretaker: A good start with a story which introduces the characters, the ship and the situation with ships in a certain section of space being randomly pulled across to the other side of the universe against their will. A really good point is that this actual event is dangerous and a good few members of the crew who loom like they are being set up and introduced as regulars are killed twenty minutes into the first episode. The main characters introduction is staggered throughout the two episodes with a few swerves thrown in. The end situation with two crews thrown together to pilot an undermanned star ship is possibly the most intriguing of any Star Trek pilot. 6/10.

Paralax: A very good episode showing the two crews aren't quite getting along and choosing Torres to get the first character centric episode is a good way to bring in the supporting cast and give a good share of the action to Chakotay and Janeway. Also a very good situation for the episode. 8/10.

Time and Again: Tepid timey wimey rubbish. 0/10

Phage: A brilliant alien race, a fantastic plot and an absorbing episode. 10/10.

The Cloud: A proper good one off nail the story to the plot episode. 8/10.

Eye of the Needle: A good little character episode with a few intriguing twists. 7/10.

Ex Post Facto: A good little whodunit and an interesting take on first contact with a new species. 6/10.

Emanations: Dull but worthy, Kim is a decent supporting character but his first centric episode doesn't hold my interest. 5/10.

Prime Factors: Good stuff and interesting to see characters entering a situation with no right or wrong and wrestling with their consciouses. 6/10.

State of Flux: A very good episode making full use of a supporting character (up to this point) and placing the rest of the cast in a situation where not everyone can be trusted. 9/10.

Heroes and Villains: Interesting use of the holodeck and nice to see The Doctor get an episode to shine. 9/10.

Cathexis: Absolute fantastic plot with twists and turns, by far one of the best episodes. 10/10.

Faces: Good to see the Vidiians reappear, they are being turned into a big threat to the Voyager crew. Interesting chaarcter examination of Torres by splitting her in two. 8/10.

Jetrel: Possibly one of my favourite episodes of this show, Neelix is a more interesting character and nice to see shades of grey developing for what looked to be a black and white character. 10/10

Learning Curve: Nice to see that some of the crew are having trouble adapting to star fleet rules and a good way of fleshing out some background characters as Tuvok trains them. But it feels out of place, this should have been the 4th or 5th episode and as such it doesn't quite work. 6/10.


A very good first season with a lot of interesting characters and new aliens introduced, only niggle is I'd like to see more edge between the two crews.

Losing Your Mojo

Good afternoon ladies and gentle readers, have you ever lost your mojo?

Your swerve, your swagger, that little bit of x-factor in yourself.

I'm going to let you into a secret readers, you never lost it and its never gone. If you have something to do and find yourself unable to do it, steal yourself get yourself together, remember all the things that make you do those thing you do and go for it a second time.

Thats todays words of wisdom from this blogger and after a few days banging my head against the wall its back into the fight tomorrow.

The Big Finish Catch-up: January - August 2016

For those of you new to this section of the blog, I started listening to the Big Finish Doctor Who releases when they started back in 1999, getting them as they were released up to mid 2002 and release No 33 Neverland. At that time I left Uni and due to being a bit busy with life and what not I only heard one or two releases over the next few years. I started getting back into them around 2008 and was 6 years behind at that point. Due to wondering off into the Lost Doctor range and a relaxed listening pace I fell further behind. In order to catch up I'm listening to two releases a month (or more when its a 60 min single disc release, plus without seeing the cover or knowing anything about the story) and my mission to catch up continues;

Hello ladies and gentle readers, regular readers of this blog may have noticed that blog entries are becoming a tad infrequent. Sorry about that but life is getting in the way and in an effort to catch up all the stories I listened to in the first eight months of the year are getting a one sentence review, so here we go;

The Macros, Lost story featuring the 6th Doctor and Peri: nice tight story decent plot.

Circular Time, series of one episode stories featuring the 5th Doctor and Nyssa: punch the air level brilliant, again didn't know about the format and the most enjoyable release I've heard in ages.

Nocturne, featuring the 7th Doctor, Ace and Hex: a rather low key feel but very good and oddly emotional in a strange way.

Renaissance of the Daleks, featuring the 5th Doctor and Nyssa: very good plot but very uninvolving.

Year of the Pig, featuring the 6th Doctor and Peri: Very Wodehouse in a good way.

The Thousand Worlds featuring the War Doctor: good but very much the second act of a box set.

Exotron and Urban Myths featuring the 5th Doctor and Peri: Exotron was decent and Urban Myths was very enjoyable.

Valhalla featuring the 7th Doctor, very atmospheric with the first half being a lot better.

I.D. and Urgent Calls featuring the 6th Doctor: I have no memory what so ever of I.D. and Urgent Calls is utter gorgeousness personified.

Memory Lane featuring the 8th Doctor: Charley and C'rizz: good stuff in a rather good strange way.

Frozen Time featuring the 7th Doctor: run of the mill.

Son of the Dragon featuring the 5th Doctor, Peri and Erimem: good but felt like a retread of 'The Settling' without the bite.

Return of the Daleks featuring the 7th Doctor: very good and very dark.

Rulers of the Universe featuring River Song and the 8th Doctor: very good and cracking end to the box set.

The Circus of Doom featuring the 4th Doctor and Mike Yates: Tom is bloody brilliant and on cracking form.

The Heart of the Battle featuring the War Doctor: a powerful end to the series with John Hurt being more bombastic than I expected.

100 featuring the 6th Doctor and Evelyn: two wonderfully funny stories, a fantastic dark one and one I'd love to have been a full length story.

Absolution featuring the 8th Doctor, Charley and C'rizz: an absolute unexpected game changer.

Minds Eye and Mission of the Viyrans featuring the 5th Doctor, Peri and Erimem: two cracking and different stories leaving me rather anxious for this line up of characters. 

10 questions I have after Euro 2016...

1. Has the Ronaldo / Messi debate been put to bed? They've traded La Liga titles and Ballond'Ors but now Ronaldo has an International tournament win to Messi's Olympic gold medal.

2. What next for Italy now that Antonio Conte has left for Chelsea? This maybe the weakest generation of Italian players in the history of forever and Conte had them playing like world beaters in a tight system. Can the next manager keep them anywhere near this level of play let alone better it?

3.Whats eating Paul Pogba? After his amazing domestic season viewers and fans were queueing up to see Paul Pogba dominate this final, but it didn't happen...

4. Where will Robson-Kanu be playing next season? He let his contract at Reading wind down, he scored the goal of tournament, is that enough to get a new club interested in him?

5. Will England continue fooling themselves into thinking Wayne Rooney is a world class midfielder? All through the tournament England had many faults but the worst was this joke of an experiment in midfield, surely they wont persist with it for another tournament?

6. Is Will Grigg still on fire?

7. Have Belgium morphed into Holland? Belgium, full of skillful players like Kevin De Bruyne, Jan Vertonghen and Eden Hazard but played like strangers and full of infighting rumours. Do we become our worst enemies?

8. What next for the underdogs? Iceland getting to the knockout stage, Wales to the semi finals and Hungary taking the lead against Portugal three times - it was a tournament for underdogs but attention turns to the World Cup qualifiers and with less places up for grabs will they even qualify let alone bring the tournament to life again?

9. Where next for Antoine Griezmann? The winner of the golden hoof/boot/slingback and after a magnificent two years for Aletico Madrid, surely the worlds his oyster?

10. Is finishing runners up enough to bring the people of France together? Bombings, murders we all know what happened in France and this tournament was seen as the ideal opportunity to bring the countries people back together. Ladies and gentle readers it is the firm hope of this blogger that it was enough.

The Big Finish Catch-Up: December 2015

For those of you new to this section of the blog, I started listening to the Big Finish Doctor Who releases when they started back in 1999, getting them as they were released up to mid 2002 and release No 33 Neverland. At that time I left Uni and due to being a bit busy with life and what not I only heard one or two releases over the next few years. I started getting back into them around 2008 and was 6 years behind at that point. Due to wondering off into the Lost Doctor range and a relaxed listening pace I fell further behind. In order to catch up I'm listening to two releases a month (or more when its a 60 min single disc release, plus without seeing the cover or knowing anything about the story) and my mission to catch up continues;

My final audio session of 2015 started with 'The Last Post' from the 'companion chronicle' range starring Caroline John in her final performance as Liz before her passing. Its a bit of a belter and Caroline performs the other UNIT regulars with gusto. Some fannish moments and another story that shows this range isn't to be ignored.

The moment I found out that Big Finish had the War Doctor I knew I couldn't wait eight years to catch up. This feels like something different from the norm, more tragic than anything I've ever heard and John Hurt gives a war/universe weary performance. It feels both epic and intimate, the story throws you off kilter - just as you think a typical 'Whoish' thing is going to happen the rug is tugged from under the listeners feet and you realise this is going to be a range unlike any other. The War Doctors relationship with the Time Lords also isn't what I expected but it suits the Doctors renegade nature. It has an odd end but its an odd story with what I suspect included a lot of set up. In short 'The Innocent' is a very interesting story and feels like it could be the start of a special journey.

Tips for Euro 2016

Good evening ladies and gentle readers, on the eve of Euro 2016 its time for my irregular betting and trading tips for Euro 2016! And without further ado...

Starting off big, outright lay of France to win the thing @ 4.5

We've all seen it before, being the home nation artificially shortens a countries price. You will never convince me in a decade of Sundays that France are a 4.4 shot. Outright lay and I will say this now France wont win Euro 2016.

Group B winner a back of England @ 1.85

Heresy I hear you say, how can you tip the noisy neighbours from over the bridge? But hear me out! Look at the price! Look at the qualifying form! Look at the opposition! You will never get a price this good on a team in this situation.

Lay of Turkey to finish top 2 in Group D @ 3.05

A small lay as I favour Czech Republic or Croatia to qualify alongside Germany.

Lay of Sweden to finish bottom of Group E @ 2.90

I think Group D is the group of death that will see Rep Ire wiped out as the rest battle for the top spot.

Albania V Switzerland back over 2.5 goals @ 2.78

Turkey V Croatia lay under 5 booking points.

and thats it for the moment, I hope to see you on the other side with a slightly swollen purse.

Thoughts on Wrestlemania 32

I didn't watch it, but I hope those that did had a nice time and weren't to tired this morning. Also from past experience I hope everyone who stayed up survived work without getting an official warning for falling asleep.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Good afternoon lady and gentle readers, this blogger decided to make the trip this fair fine Good Friday to the local cinema to watch the aforementioned film and here's what I thought;

I'm sorry to report that its a mess, not a fun glorious over the top mess but a stodgy mess that for a large proportion of the film doesn't get into first gear. I'm trying not to give away spoilers so it isn't going to be as detailed as other reviews. There are a few dream sequences in the film where it isn't really clear the character is dreaming until the events unfold, at one point there is an event in the film about to take place and I thought we were still in a dream. I had to nudge myself into clarity as it dawned on me the final act was about to take place, at that point it dawned on me that I was a bit bored and rather than excited I was relieved.

The film starts giving us a very good reason why Batman may not be on the same page as Superman, however however the story takes a while to show us why Supes may not be on the same page as Bats. As well as that other things are going on (including what looks to be the setting up of the film DC Universe) and its just to much. A lot of Superman's storyline is tied up with ramifications of his previous film which I didn't care about - certainly take something from the film and develop it but stop the endless referencing.

There are a lot of comic fan moments in this film - at one point I caught myself mentally squeeing at the sight of a SPOILER but a quick scan of those around me saw blank expressions. Its the kind of film where your going to need a geeky mate to explain things to you afterwards and most people will definitely need to look it up on wikipedia to explain some of the confusing plot elements. Visually the film is unclear and murky which doesn't help things - especially in the final act. Its without doubt a film for the fans I know full well a shed load of texts from non comic geek are going to be coming my way demanding explanations. There are some really good Easter eggs to keep your eyes open for and a lot of things to excite fans. Ben Affleck I found quite decent, Holly Hunter and Gal Gadot deserve plaudits and should have had more screen time. The rest I could give or take to a certain extent.

To sum up, this is purely for fans and theres a lot of good stuff for them in this, however as a film it looks a bit sloppy and I came away disappointed when I was really up for it. I give it five Bat signals out of ten.

Big Finish Catch-Up: November 2015 - December 2015

For those of you new to this section of the blog, I started listening to the Big Finish Doctor Who releases when they started back in 1999, getting them as they were released up to mid 2002 and release No 33 Neverland. At that time I left Uni and due to being a bit busy with life and what not I only heard one or two releases over the next few years. I started getting back into them around 2008 and was 6 years behind at that point. Due to wondering off into the Lost Doctor range and a relaxed listening pace I fell further behind. In order to catch up I'm listening to two releases a month (or more when its a 60 min single disc release, plus without seeing the cover or knowing anything about the story) and my mission to catch up continues;

Due to me being busy I haven't had the time to update this part of the blog over the last few months so here's a bumper update of the stories I listened to between November and December...

First up its 'No Mans Land' featuring the 7th Doctor, Ace and Hex. I like this story very much, there are a few curve balls and around an episode in it really pulls the rug from under the listeners feat. This is one benefited from coming in with no spoilers and I look forward to coming back to it in the future.

We're in the realms of 'something special' here, I must say at the start I've heard this story before but like the rest of the first season of '8th Doctor adventures' not since the original broadcast. This story sums up to me what this range is about, taken a past Doctor and putting him in a situation more akin to the TV series since 2005. We've had some standout moments and stories from the 8th Doctor in the main range (I get soppy remembering  Storm Warning coming out as we were finally getting the current Doctor in a season and at that at the time the show was a million miles from coming back to TV) but here we're getting the equivalant of a TV season finale with Paul McGann and Sheridan Smiths 8th Doctor and Lucie. We get answers, revelations, plot twists, ongoing characters from during the season get developed while in the middle at times theres an intimate story. Fully recommended, a thumbs up from me and 10/10.

This is a story that sums up what Nick Briggs does best, he comes up with a plot and firmly pins the entire story to it. I've heard some stories lately where Nick is trying to be 'fluffy' (mainly with the 4th Doctor) and it doesn't work. If your coming into Big Finish wanting to hear some stories by Nick Briggs get this or Creatures of Beauty. This story in particular I found very interesting - not fun but I was fully absorbed, a strong 7/10.

This one randomly popped up because it was on offer, we're back to being in 'something special.' For a reviewer who doesn't look at the titles or covers to avoid spoilers I feel the urge to point out how much I like the cover and the title. I like The Beatles, they've been a constant in my life since my youth and theres a lot of fun to be had here. The best thing I can say about this story is I've been trying to sneak the gags into daily life. Its a fairly different story and fun - I think everyone can take something from this, its a Fab Four out of four from me.

Answers...

GIVE ME ANSWERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Storm Imogen

Hello ladies and gentle readers, in case you don't know Storm Imogen is battering the UK and its all gone to pot.

The countries on the verge of grinding to a halt, trucks are being blown over, tiles and roofs are being blown apart, the streets are littered with damage, the trains have a speed limit of 50mph and unless I'm very much mistaken a herd of pigs was just blown by.

My problem with this is we know its coming, we're an island, theres always a storm/snow/flood/heatwave around the corner. We should be prepared for this and we never are. My message to the powers that be; SORT YOUR SHIT OUT AND GET THIS COUNTRY READY FOR WEATHER ON GENERAL.

David Bowie

For those of you who don't know David Bowie passed away during the week, condolences to his family and friends. As a fan I hope he enjoyed his final days as much as he enjoyed the rest of his life. I've had the music and albums playing all week and to celebrate Davids career here's my top 10 David Bowie tracks;

10 Magic Dance, the first time I saw David was in Labyrinth which included this memorable song...

9 Blue Jean, David at his catchiest.

8 Absolute Beginners, the title track from the film of the same name a rather underrated track in this bloggers opinion.

7 Under Pressure the classic collaboration with Queen...

6 Life on Mars, an amazing stand out moment from David and a song that became further enriched by the TV series of the same name.

5 Golden Years, perhaps the most well known track from the 'plastic soul' era.

 4 Underground, the main song from Labyrinth and for my generation the song most associated with David, revisiting the 'plastic soul' era with added venom.

3 Hallo Spaceboy, David teams up with another of my favourite acts with an electric result.

2 Young Americans, the funkier side of Davids journey into soul.

1. Heroes, David Bowie and Brian Eno, this isn't a song its solid sound carved out of granite.

Top TV Picks: 2015

A happy new year to you ladies and gentle readers, I greet you in 2016 with a new blog which is my favourite TV choices from 2015. I hope you agree with the following, if not I hope you take pleasure in telling me why I'm wrong and marking my card for something I've missed;

10. Banished

A BBC 2 drama from Jimmy McGovern tucked away in a 9 pm slot on Thursdays featuring a fantastic cast including Julian Rhind-Tut, Russell Tovey and Myanna Buring. Revolving around the politics and daily life of a recently set up penal colony. Not the cosiest of topics and perhaps not the easiest of subjects to set a drama around but good stuff none the less.


9. 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown

I don't watch 8 out of 10 Cats and I don't watch Countdown, however after flicking over one evening I was hooked. By far one of the funniest shows on TV at the moment.


8. Inside No. 9

Reece Shearsmiths and Steve Pembertons dark series of one off horror/comedy episodes did not disappoint in its second season. More twists, more guest stars and two episodes which were must see TV.


7. Wolf Hall

BBC 2 already getting its third appearance on this list with a drama based around Thomas Cromwell and the court of Henry VIII. Starring Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis, this was the BBC doing what it does best, period drama with a touch of something special.


6. Ordinary Lies

Set in a modern day car dealership this show featured a group of 'ordinary workers' and the lies which threaten to send their lives out of control.


5. Elementary

This series features a modern day interpretatrion of Holmes and Watson starring Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu. This is a down dirty 'warts and all' version of Holmes and more in line with the Jeremy Brett interpretation than you might expect. Watson at times takes centre stage and new things are being with their relationship. Perhaps this is the most consistent show on TV at the moment.


4. House of Fools

I love Vic and Bob, I could watch 50 minutes a week of them stroking kittens and this has by far been the funniest show on TV for the last two years. The BBC and are fools to cancel it.


3. The Enfield Haunting

If your into horror and didn't see this you missed out big time, based around the events of 'The Enfield Poltergeist' which took place in the late 1970's. Starring Timothy Spall, Juliet Stevenson and Matthew Macfayden this was based around the investigation of the haunting endured by family to see weather its genuine or not.


2. Doctor Who

I've been a fan of this show since I can remember and this years series was one of my favourites in ages. The Doctor having a midlife crisis and having to be reminded he's The Doctor was a story that feels like it concluded Peter Capaldi's introduction if The Twelfth Doctor. This years output felt more suited to my personal taste, more horror, darker stories, more multiple episode stories and in 'Heaven Sent' possibly the most 'WTF' moment of TV during 2015.


1. Daredevil

 
Ever since I was a kid I was into comics, started with the Transformers and then spread into Marvel and beyond. Daredevil was someone who cropped up from time to time as a guest star and not a character I was interested in, to be honest I wasn't interested in this series until I saw the trailer and it was something special. Finally I saw episode one on Netflix and all I can say never have I seen a TV show or film capture a book or comic character so perfectly. I can only implore you to watch, as its brilliant. The confrontation between Daredevil and Kingpin in episode six is brimming with tension, no doubt you would have heard about the fight scenes but theres so much more to this show than that. I'm constantly pausing and rewinding because theres so much to watch out for. By far this was the number one show of 2015 for me.

Hope you enjoyed this blog and if you have any other suggestions you think I missed why not tell me bellow...