Olivia Colman Wins the Academy Award for Best Actress

Absolutely fantastic news, Olivia Colman has been an underrated regular on British TV for over a decade and more recently film. She has played monsters in Doctor Who, a cute innocent love interest on Peep Show and fantastic put upon characters in shows such as Green Wing and Twenty Twelve. Absolutely fantastic stuff and it feels like someone I've watched grow up has won an award.

The Big Finish Catch-Up December 2018

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;

Death in Blackpool - The fourth season of the 8th Doctor Adventures start off with an emotional story set at Christmas. Featuring the 8th Doctor, Lucie and "Auntie Pat" this story is the most bittersweet Christmas story Big Finish have ever done. Its certainly a story that feels like its tying up some long standing aspects of the series. As such its not one for you if your dipping in but one for long term listeners. Highly emotional, this is not not your typical story from this range - however it is one of the stand out stories of this range 9/10.

The Bloodless Soldier - The start of Jago and Litefoots spin off series. Very good stuff, lots of fun with a few aspects of the series being introduced. It certainly feels like the start of something fun. The two leads are astounding fun and I'm already looking forward to the next story 8/10.

Return to the Web Planet - A rather cute subscriber special starring Peter Davison as the 5th Doctor and Sarah Sutton as Nyssa. Of note is an appearance by Sam Kelly off of many a sitcom and the early Big Finish release Holy Terror 6/10.

Enemy Aliens - from the Destiny of the Doctor series this entry sees India Fisher reprise Charley Pollard in an adventure with the 8th Doctor. India does an excellent job voicing the various characters (I like her 11th Doctor). This is a rip roaring adventure and lots of fun, one of the best of this series 9/10.

1963: The Space Race - The main range 50th anniversary story featuring the 6th Doctor and Peri. Very nice to hear this team in the main range, a very engrossing story that draws the listener in. Of note are some bloody excellent cliffhangers and a very interesting late story aspect of 1963. I was pleased when I looked at the cover after listening and noted it was written by Jonathan Morris who is one of my firm favourites 8/10. 

Single Gamer seeks Threesome

Hi, I'm looking for two special people for fun and frolics this valentines day in Kings Canyon. If you fancy snuggling up celebrating a championship win your the gamer for me. If you can answer yes to the following questions please DM me or leave a comment;

Are you in this for the long haul and not to crash and burn out on the opening few minutes?

Will you follow me to the end and not bail out before we jump?

Do you know when its appropriate to grapple?

Will you collect and respawn me if I fall?

Will you take me into the void if I fall?

Do you know the best times for Gibraltar to be a rock and a weapon?

Do you know when too much pinging is too much?


If yes you have what it takes to join my squad and be a part of team Umbogo. Please send your details and this valentines day we can get our guns out and have fun on Apex Legends.

The Big Finish Catch-Up November 2018

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;


Legend of the Cybermen - the finale of this main range trilogy starring Colin Baker and Frazer Hines as the 6th Doctor and Jamie is a big soppy 10/10 from me. Do not listen to this story without hearing the first two parts as this is a tightly knitted trilogy. The last story ended with us finding out where this story is set and it should throw up fond memories for long term fans. We get more of this location and much more detail than we got on TV and it enriches the story as well as this we have the plot continuing from the first two stories. There are plenty of twists with some familiar faces I can very much recommend this story albeit as part of the trilogy.

1963: The Assasination Game - at this point I need to point out a change to this catch up marathon. Due to financial reasons I have been unable to purchase the next batch of stories. Rather than stop I've gone into future stories I've bought on sale and various non main range stories I've bought over the years. This story was released in the tail end of 2013 and is part of the main range anniversary released featuring the 7th Doctor and Ace meeting up with the Counter Measures team. In all honesty its rather dull and lacks flair coming in at a rather average 5/10.

Andy Murray

Earlier today at a press conference Andy Murray announced his plans to retire this year. He hopes to retire at Wimbledon but fears next weeks Australian Open could be his last tournament. His comments include;

"I'm not sure I'm able to play through the pain for another four or five months,"

"I want to get to Wimbledon and stop but I'm not certain I can do that."

"I'm not feeling good, I've been struggling for a long time."

"I've been in a lot of pain for about 20 months now. I've pretty much done everything I could to try and get my hip feeling better and it hasn't helped loads."

"I'm in a better place than I was six months ago but I'm still in a lot of pain. I can still play to a level, but not a level I have played at."

I for one will be sorry to see Andy retire, I've always been a fan of tennis and have traded tennis live as a job at times during my life meaning that tennis is one of my most watched and enjoyed sports. Andy Murray has taken tennis to another level where in the UK its not just something that happens for a fortnight in the summer during Wimbledon. My earliest memories of Andy are of a young skinny players throwing up on court as his skills had taken him as far as his body.

He would later mature into a player of immense power and a style that included many engrossing baseline rallies. My personal highlight of his career was the 2012 London Olympic gold medal win which would catapult him to winning the US Open and Wimbledon over the next year.

Andy, this blogger wishes you all the best in retirement and will be continuing to cheer you on until you retire. Its been a crazy ride that you've taken your fans on over the years and trust me when I say that we enjoyed every minute of it.

2018 Rankings of Films I Saw in the Cinema

Good afternoon ladies and gentle readers as is tradition we start the new year off with lists about the old one. During the course of 2018 I saw nine films and ranked them as follows

The Meg - a fun OTT summer block buster where Jason Statham takes on a giant shark. As a film it was a bit of a banter and a fun evening out. 7/10

The Crimes of Grindelwald - the second in the "Fantastic Creatures" series and an alright film. I enjoy seeing new things in this cinematic universe but the film lacked a final act. 7/10

A Star is Born - a good romantic comedy that one me over with the cinema and directorial aspects rather than the story. 7/10

Ant-Man and the Wasp - a fun superhero comedic heist film. 8/10

Black Panther - another winner for the marvel cinematic universe. 8/10

Into the Spiderverse - a fun animation with various otherworld versions of Spiderman. Possibly the most engaging and edge of the seat release I saw at the cinema this year. 8/10

The Greatest Showman - yes I was late to the party and saw it in 2018, a fantastic musical with songs that are already being covered in adverts less than a year later. It gets a high mark due to the verve of the production. 9/10

Ready Player One - Steven Spielberg back to his blockbuster best in a virtual reality film full of pop culture references to my life. 9.5/10

Avengers Infinity War - this took me back to being a kid and the excitement when the X-men, Avengers and Spiderman would get together in a team up like Secret Wars. Really brought out the five year old in me. 10/10

Bohemian Rhapsody - my top film of the year a Freddie Mercury biopic starting from the beginning of Queen and taking us up to Live Aid. I saw it twice and will be watching it again, not only did it strike the right notes as a fan but it was a fun laugh out loud film  10/10

Doctor Who Season 11 Review

The Woman Who fell to Earth - Decent start but very jarring as the new production team sets down its style. Visually very dark and murky, momentum wise the story is very stop start. I fully expect this to improve on a second watch 6/10.

The Ghost Monument - Very flat and again visually murky, it feels like Keys of Marinus without any of the fun 6/10.

Rosa - Very good stuff and it feels like the first meaty story of the season with lots of characterisation for the first time. Interesting topic and a very good historical 8/10.

Arachnids in the UK - A very poor episode which doesn't come off for me. A few good moments and again good characterisation but I feel like I only watched half an episode 4/10.

The Tsuranga Conundrum - Funny, engaging and the first story of the season with flair. Also this is a proper Doctor episode giving her more time and showing more depth when we've only had the odd scene up to this point 8/10.

Demons of Punjab - A good engaging historical about a time and topic I'm not fully aware of full of punch the air moments 9/10.

Kerblam! - Absolute bat shit crazy full of amusing moments and brought back memories of my time with Amazon 7/10.

The Witchfinders - Good fluff with a wonderfully OTT performance by Alan Cumming 6/10.

It Takes You Away - It starts off like its going to be Dog Soldiers and turns into The Frog Princess, brilliant stuff 10/10.

The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos - Good little story albeit lacking the flair of recent episodes and not having a closing night feel. Lots of good character moments but I wanted more 6/10.

Summing up, I enjoyed this season a lot more than I expected going in. Personally I think three companions in a collection of one part stories is a little bit too busy. I enjoyed the cheeky flavour of the season but it did get off to a slow start. Chris Chibnall strikes me as a better producer than a writer and I want to see more of the cheeky aspect of the series. Overall I give this season a B and look forward to the future.

Individuals of note:

Jodie Whittaker - Strong start from her and a strong personality for her Doctor. Manages to squeeze in character in unexpected moments. She's more of a Doctor who likes to get her hands dirty.

Chris Chibnall - Good start as producer, got the new feel of the show over quickly, established a good writing team, behind the scenes team and onscreen team. However as I've said many times his writing is very "route 1" and perhaps should write less next season.

Jennifer Perrott - By far the director of the year for me, brought to life a pair of cheeky scripts.