The Ten Things I Would Like From Nintendo In 2013

2012 has been a strong year for Nintendo with the 3DS going from strength to strength and the newly launched WiiU proving very popular during the last month of the year. But what could Nintendo do over the next twelve months that would build on these strengths? Here are my ten suggestions for a cracking 2013!

 

Expand the Nintendo ID and WiiU firmware onto the 3DS and Wii

 

With both Nintendo’s current handheld and previous home console both able to have updatable firmware, getting the Nintendo ID onto both devices would be great, something that has been promised. This would mean you could access the Miiverse and all your records on the go and 3DS games could be rolled into the service retrospectively. On top of that if the Wii could be updated to include a, probably scaled down, version, then the community will expand quickly.

 Sharing IDs between devices mean all your records on the devices could be shared and make the community even more thriving.

Plus, with the 3DS sharing much of the technology in the GamePad and the Wii, with WiiSpeak included pretty much there, then WiiU chat could be possible on all three devices.

 Expand Miiverse into social networking

It has already been proposed by Nintendo that the Miiverse will come to smartphones eventually, which would be a great inclusion. The social networking side of Miiverse is great and adds to games, but having the ability to Tweet or Facebook achievements and screenshots would add to the appeal and promote the WiiU wider than the console itself, which feels at the moment to be a bit of a closed garden.

 Though I’m not sure about Instragram pictures of Mario everywhere...

 Photo Gallery and Music Player

 With the Wii you could put photos on an SD card and show them on the television. It would be great to have a new version of this for the WiiU alongside a player to be able to play music or video files from a connected hard drive, turning the WiiU into a more all-round entertainment hub.

 iPlayer app and other bits of catch-up TV

 Though you can get the iPlayer through the dedicated Wii app, it has yet to make an appearance on the WiiU. Hopefully, when the TVii service launches later this year iPlayer, alongside ITV Player, 4OD and Demand Five will be included and if these services could be viewed just on the GamePad even better, so whilst your parents or other half are watching Pointless on TV, you can enjoy re-runs of the Super Mario Supershow on the GamePad with headphones!

Better Integration between the Wii and WiiU

The ability to emulate the Wii on its successor is great but it needs to be incorporated within the main dashboard. I don’t want to have to constantly reboot the console to play old Wii games. Virtual console games should appear on the main panel and if the Wii could distinguish between Wii discs and Gamecube ones, surely the WiiU could tell which generation the game is? Plus, being able to play virtual console games on the GamePad would be useful.

Also, though GameCube emulation was removed from the WiiU due to the lack of controller ports, would there not be a way around it by using the ProController so we can still enjoy our smaller, but still enjoyable, GC discs?

GameCube downloads and more virtual console games

Speaking of GameCube games, isn’t it about time they appeared on the WiiU eStore? Plus, with a general quietness on the gaming love for the N64 and older consoles, can Nintendo speed up the uploading of classic games?

Finally, they need to sort out the cost of digital games. The idea of downloading ‘ZombiU’ or ‘New! Super Mario Bros U’ is a brilliant one to avoid changing discs, but I wouldn’t pay more than the shop price for the privilege!

Embrace the 3DS

As mentioned above, the 3DS is practically a smaller, two-screen GamePad. As shown by Microsoft and Sony’s ventures into the possibilities with ideas like ‘Smartglass’, could the 3DS be updated to become a GamePad so your friends can bring their consoles round to your house and get the same abilities, albeit on a smaller screen. Let’s not have to wait until the Super Smash Bros tie-in to get more handheld to home console integration.

Downloadable Content

Though gamers have a love / hate relationship with DLC it does have many positives. Whilst games like NSMBU are crammed with lots of challenges even more would be better and a steady stream of them would bring gamers back to the game. I for one would love to see more multiplayer maps or extra levels for ZombiU or extra attractions in NintendoLand, and would be happy to pay something for them.

Bring out some new sequels!

Though it’s great to get new games, there are some sequels crying out to be made. The Gamepad is crying out for a new ‘Mario Paint’ game to take advantage of the large touchscreen, picking up the baton from the Wii’s ‘UDraw’. Plus, the music creation software of that game could make a worthwhile Wii Music follow-up.

Away from the unique abilities of the GamePad, I for one would already like a sequel to the incredible ‘ZombiU’ but also follow-ups to ‘Donkey Kong Country Returns’ and ‘Super Mario Galaxy’.

 And finally, port over some more games!

 With the WiiU we are finally getting some big hitters coming to a Nintendo console but there are few others that have so far escaped the net. A WiiU version of ‘Minecraft’, I’m sure, would be greeted with applause but also seeing upcoming games like ‘Grand Theft Auto 5’ and the new ‘Tomb Raider’ on the console would be amazing.

 I would also like to see Nintendo expanding the virtual console out a bit more to bringing PC ports back from the dead. Who wouldn’t want to see old Bullfrog games like ‘Theme Hospital’ or LucasArts point-and-click classics like ‘Grim Fandango’ brought to the touch-screen of either the WiiU or 3DS?

Those are my ideas for Nintendo in 2013. What are yours?

Must be something in the curry...

"Bradford residents ‘have more sex than anywhere else in UK’ – survey" reveals the Metro today (http://metro.co.uk/2012/03/12/bradford-residents-have-more-sex-than-anywhere-else-in-uk-survey-349210/). Well when you have a rapidly depleting city centre and cold weather, what else is there to do?

Just don't have a curry before hand.

Licence To Kill Revoked

"James Bond games pulled from digital platforms" reveals an article this morning (http://www.videogamer.com/xbox360/007_legends/news/james_bond_games_pulled_from_digital_platforms.html) as various Bond games disappear from some game estores, but not all.

Has Bond's licence to thrill been revoked? Or maybe the video game company didn't pay a big enough bond?

Has Terrestrial Television Lost Out To Digital Channels?

This week it was revealed, in an article on the BBC's very own news site, that "BBC 'missed out' on Yes, Prime Minister comeback" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-20908049) with the creators saying that they refused to film a pilot of their new version of the classic BBC sitcom thus taking the show to UKTV's 'Gold' instead, a trend happening more and more with digital stations getting big hitters appearing on their channels.

Now whilst I think the writer's refusal to film a pilot smacks a little of 'do you not know who I am' syndrome and the BBC needs to see if the show, in its new format, will actually be funny, they do have a point in that the show was very successful on the BBC and in the recent stage show, which this new version is based on, and if UKTV, with a vastly smaller budget than the Beeb can take the risk, why can't they?

Comedy on the BBC is in a strange place. My favourite sitcom on television at the moment 'Not Going Out' - soon coming back for a sixth series - was cancelled and saved not so long ago in a frankly ridiculous decision, and comedy shows I'd expect, if not on the BBC, at least on "terrestrial" television, have appeared on digital channels, in particular on Sky channels who seem to be showcasing lots of great new shows, one being the hilarious 'A Touch of Cloth' two-parter, co-written by Charlie Brooker, a regular contributor to shows on the BBC and Channel 4. I'm not privvy to the negotiations - and the money offered - that got the show onto Sky, but it would have been a perfect addition to either of those mentioned channel's line-ups.

This isn't to say the BBC isn't still doing great comedy shows. Their 'Bleak Old Shop of Stuff' from 2011 was a great commission, as was Brooker's series of 'Wipe' shows including the most recent one this week, and they are still mostly unrivaled when it comes to comedy panel shows, but there seems to be a lack of risk taking in comedy. Only last year Channel 4 showed a pilot of Milton Jones' 'House of Rooms', an absolutely hilarious thirty-minutes, that has still not been commissioned.

And even when they do have some great comedy they don't capitalise on it. 'John Bishop's Britain', a brilliant show, good enough to get a second series, is still not available on DVD. I, for one, want to own that. The BBC has a large gold mine of old comedies that should see the light of day again or at least get a DVD release. Who remembers Al Murray's great but short lived sketch show from a few years back, still not available to take home?

In short, the BBC and its terrestrial cousins are doing some great things with comedy but needs to do more. If these relatively small-fry digital television stations can commission whole series that stand up to  their originals (Gold and 'Yes, Prime Minster', Watch and its major contributions to Primeval Series' four and five, and showing off its new Canadian spin-off, Dave and 'Red Dwarf) then why cannot the big hitters? If they're not careful they will drive more and more viewers over to these small channels.

Shows like 'A Touch of Cloth', 'Red Dwarf', 'Primeval', 'Yes! Prime Minister' and more should have been jumped on by the big four traditional networks to show. They need to take more risks and make bigger comedy shows or instead of making jokes about 'Dave' in their shows, they'll be losing out to them.

The End of the Printed Word?

"Sales of printed books fell by almost £74m in the UK last year, according to data from Nielsen BookScan" reveals a BBC article today (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-20908048), a 4.6% fall from the previous year with 14% of book sales now in the form of e-books. Now, no longer do people have to hide what they're reading behind another like a copy of '50 Shades of Grey' behind the Beano or grab an adult version of a Harry Potter book, now their reading matter can be as private as the music you listen to on your phone or .mp3 player.

Personally, I still like a physical book but, like CDs to MP3s, the printed word is going to continue to shift into eBooks and the world of reading going through the changes that the music industry did ten years ago.

Jack Whitehall, confused police and old people

The news has been alight today with all manner of stories, with the practically unanimous complaints about the rise of train fares finally subsiding (I had a return already so I've got the shout of astonishment to come when I find out how expensive my regular journey will become) as weary commuters resign themselves to the inevitable that they have to spend more money to get to work to earn money to pay for getting to work to earn money in the first place. I still can't understand how I can get to London return - granted on a coach - for £21.50 whereas it costs me £16 to get to York. How is that sensible?

With trains still being unreliable and over-crowded we still need to get some evidence that the money paid is improving the rail network, that doesn't involve spending millions of pounds on a high-speed rail link that knocks - whoopdedo - a whole twenty minutes off a journey.

(To be honest I'd be happier them spending the money on a large taser so everytime some chav with a pair of metal cutters and a deathwish steals the copper from Micklefield and causing delays they can get a nasty shock from the Fat Controller with an S&M addiction.)

Elsewhere in the news we get "Blue Christmas lights cause 'difficulties' for police helicopters" so criminals no longer have to be great at hide and seek, just need to find a willing accomplice with a portable generator and Wilkinsons' finest Christmas lights. I'm looking forward to the Christmas special of 'Police, Camera, Action' where a policeman curses the festive season for keeping Burglar Bill on the streets. Imagine how annoyed Santa must be when looking for chimneys.

"Adam spends his last £500 on billboard begging for work" reveals the Sun (http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4724965/Unemployed-graduate-buys-billboard-begging-for-work.html) showing Adam Pacitti's great billboard asking for a job. Either that or he just has a big ego. I'd like to do a similar thing but I can't afford a huge billboard. I've bought a sandwich board and an airhorn instead. I wonder if the Sun will cover me doing that like a walking vuvuzela?

In more serious news "'Target winter fuel benefit to pay for elderly care'" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20887547) was a topic not out of the news today at all. There's been a lot of criticism of the proposal but I, to a point, agree with that. For 99% of the people in the country they should still get the winter fuel allowance. But if, as a pensioner, you have a massive pension or loads of money saved up, it's cheeky to apply for that. The mooney could be, as suggested, used for better care home care for the elderly. (Though if Cameron / Clegg got their fingers out and started chasing up all the multinationals dodging tax, maybe we wouldn't be even having this conversation!)

Also revealed today was that 2012 was the second wettest year ever since records began, only stopped beating 2000 by Scotland having milder weather than England for a nice change. No wonder the econmy is in such a state as we've all spent our money saved for a raining day.

In entertainment "Television Awards refute claims Jack Whitehall is under pressure to stand down amid Big Quiz of the Year controversy" (http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/television-awards-refute-claims-jack-whitehall-is-under-pressure-to-stand-down-amid-big-quiz-of-the-year-controversy-8436531.html) in possibly the most ridiculous story of the day. A comedian is told off for making a joke that, whilst possibly a little distasteful, is no worse than have ever been on any of these shows and was in context. People need to lighten up and not take things so seriously and I hope it doesn't impact on Jack Whitehall's promising career. If anything, the sue should be controversial as it was completely unfunny. A show I was looking forward to seeing it, I hadn't laughed once in the first half hour. Thankfully Charlie Brooker's summary of the year didn't disappoint.

And, finally, "Jim Davidson To Miss Celebrity Big Brother". Lucky git.

iOS 6 Hit By Do Not Disturb Bug

The Millennium Bug has hit! OK, it's thirteen years too late and it's dramatic effect has been to stop some people spending all their lives on their iPhone. The bug (http://www.slashgear.com/ios-6-do-not-disturb-bug-getting-fixed-on-january-7-02262829/) stopped the feature, which activates a sort of airplane mode but then doesn't deactivate now due to a bug affected by the move to 2013. Therefore, I assume, people went ages without getting prompted to draw something, who is poking them on Facebook or that someone wants to speak to them on 'What's App'. In other words, people actually probably became more productive.

My 2013 New Years Resolutions

And now it's time to set myself some new years resolutions for 2013 - will I stick to any of them? Time will tell! But here are eleven things to hold myself over a barrel with come December!

1. Eat more healthily!
For Christmas I got a new slow cooker and some electric whisks so I'm able to do more exciting meals in the kitchen. I enjoy cooking but have to say I've not been as active in the kitchen (steady!) as I could have been recently so I'm going to make all the effort to start cooking myself some proper, hearty food this year!

2. Sketch Show Part 2
I enjoyed creating the sketch show last year and I'm going to get the follow-up done in the early part of the year!

3. Grade Two on the Keyboard
I am going to do more practice on the keyboard than I have in 2012 to build on my grade one and get to the next level!

4. Promote my radio shows more!
I'm now doing several shows on a variety of stations that I'm getting into the swing of but it's time to get some proper promotion done for them so expect some posters and such like soon!

5. Go a little bit hippie
I'm considering making a stand and stop using companies that are currently flouting the UK tax laws, which mainly means Amazon of which I'm a big shopper and have a credit card with them - but is it possible to do this and, even if it is, will it make a difference?

6. Write my novel
I started it last January and did a bit over the year but it's still languishing on my pen drive. 2013 will be the year to finish it!

7. Read more!
I used to be an avid reader but until joining a book club I've lost the love I once had. I have a pile of books to read and 2013 will be me determined to read each night!

8. Do more badminton
I love badminton but hardly do it... it's time to get fit the badminton-y way (and possibly get to the gym!)

9. Catch up on my films and video games
I have a lot of films I haven't watched and video games I've never finished. It's time to get my money's worth out of them!

10. Go to Germany
I went to France last year and in 2013 I'd like to get to Germany. Time to save up and practice the old Deutsche!

11. Take up a new hobby
I need to try something different this year and join some new social circles. Any ideas??

The Seven Most Annoying News Stories of the Year

There are many news stories you read throughout the year that get you up on your soapbox and here are seven of mine.

Firstly, the subject of tax dodging. It seemed in 2012 everyone was at it, putting their money into off-shore bank accounts like the Robinson Crusoe of finance. Amazon, Google, Starbucks and Vodafone are just four companies accused of cooking the books but who becomes the poster boy for being a little bit cheeky with their financial arrangements? Comedian Jimmy Carr.

Now I’m not saying that Carr shouldn’t be held to account, pardon the pun, because, though what he did was legal, anyone who uses their power or money to save money that, ultimately, pays for hospitals, schools and lots more, should be dealt with. But, in the grand scheme of tax avoidance, Carr is a very minor player. Instead of Cameron holding him to account perhaps the Government should spend more time going after the huge companies avoiding paying tax, something Private Eye has been going on about for at least two years.

There were also two similar news stories in the press this year. Firstly was the terrible shootings at a premiere of The Dark Knight Rises in the summer. What was the response to this? Evaluate the availability of guns in the USA? Put better things in place to deal with people with mental health issues and give them support? No, it is to look at banning late night or early morning showings of films. Well, that’s getting to the root cause of the problem, isn’t it. Because we all know that people doing things late at night leads to such things. Does nobody remember the blood bath at the last Harry Potter midnight book launch? Or the scenes of horror at the late night showings of the same film in the UK or other countries? What about the chaos brought about by the midnight fireworks on New Years Day? Oh, that’s right, none of that happened...

Then, sadly, we got another shooting later in the year at the American school where gun sales actually went up in the wake of it so people could be protected if someone attacked them with a gun, in an absurd scenario that resembles that scene in Pulp Fiction where everyone holds guns to each other’s head. Now I’m all for everyone having the right to bear arms to protect themselves if that’s part of the constitution and that’s what they want but if every sane, rational person has access to a gun then so will every irrational, problematic person. You can’t have it both ways. If there is access to guns then this sort of thing will keep on happening and the USA needs to evaluate why everyone needs a gun in the first place.

Back on home soil the on-going Jimmy Savile story kept rolling, pulling in more people and bringing in more questions. We had the questionable decision from the BBC last year to not run an expose of the star to not dampen their memoriam programmes for him. Then they aired a badly researched Newsnight programme accusing Lord MacAlpine of being a paedophile when he was nothing of the sort, leading to the departure of the DG George Entwhistle after just 54 days and then questions over his large redundancy package (giggidy). This story is annoying on many counts. Firstly, it’s awful that an individual who was much loved by many people and did lots of work for charity had such an awful, secret past which has now overshadowed all the good work he did. Secondly, it’s head-scratchingly confusing of how he got away it for so long. Jon Richardson put it perfectly on ‘8 Out Of 10 Cats’, and I paraphrase: usually when this sort of thing comes out everyone goes ‘oh, surely not, I can’t believe it.’ Here everyone was like ‘Oh, yeah, I knew he was dodgy all along’.

How he could have gotten away with it for so long when so many people knew about what he’d been up to or knew he was an unsavoury character beggars belief, but it shouldn’t be used as a stick to just attack the BBC. Firstly, it was a different culture fifty years ago – which isn’t excusing it or justifying it – and it was the organisation then that’s at fault, but also how he infiltrated other organisations such as the NHS. It confuses me how everyone can go on about how they found him a strange character and that there was something shady about him. My parents grew up watching him on television, I remember seeing lots about him in my youth, and a subtext was never mentioned. It’s like finding out now they’ve passed away that Sir Patrick Moore kept aliens in slavery or Gerry Anderson actually committed violence on puppets. The most annoying thing about this story is the collective not doing anything by lots of people that meant he never had the chance to be held accountable, or indeed defend himself, whilst he was still alive.

Also in the news this year the appointment of women bishops was voted down with the subject now not able to be discussed for many years. By all accounts the vote was narrow but it begs the question of what possible reason could there be not to have women bishops? I’m pretty much on-the-wall when it comes to the rights and wrongs of religion but appointing women bishops would have been an incredibly positive step for Christianity and in this day and age it’s difficult to justify not accepting the change. And there’s lots of valid reasons to change it, no more so than they’re already used to wearing dresses! Joking aside, sort it out!

In a similar area the issue of gay marriage was a hot topic. Again, I’m not sure what the problem is here. Depending on your view of life and death, we are only on this planet for a short time and everyone deserves happiness. And if that happiness is marrying a loved one even if they are the same gender as you, where is the problem in that?

Those were seven news stories that were annoying to me this year – what about you?

My 2012

My 2012

As 2012 comes to an end, I thought it would be nice to sum up the year so far in one blog post, sort of like one of those round robin letters you get but you won’t get this force-fed down your throat. Failing that it’s something for me to look back on in years to come! So what happened in 2012?

January: The month I finally went abroad

  

I started off 2012 by taking a look around the new City Park in Bradford (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/city-park-actually-quite-good.html). It might have cost an obscenely large amount of money but what they’ve done with the space is incredible and it’s a really impressive landmark, and one that has brought the population of the city together in many ways. I also enjoyed Milton Jones’ pilot ‘The House of Rooms’ (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/milton-jones-house-of-rooms-review.html) which still hasn’t been commissioned as far as I know, which is a real shame as it was a hilarious thirty minutes.

Capitalising on two games reviews I’d sent into website ‘Den of Geek’ in December 2011 I began writing more for the site. By the end of the year I would have written lots for them, from a review of ‘Sonic Generations’ (http://www.denofgeek.com/games/6502/sonic-generations-nintendo-3ds-review) to ’10 Things I’d Like To See From Primeval’ (http://www.denofgeek.com/tv/primeval/21040/the-10-things-we%E2%80%99d-like-to-see-from-primeval-in-2012) to my top ten episodes of that television series (http://www.denofgeek.com/tv/primeval/22386/top-10-primeval-episodes). I would go on to write a big piece on the WiiU (http://www.denofgeek.com/games/23685/our-first-48-hours-with-the-nintendos-wii-u) and game ZombiU (http://www.denofgeek.com/games/23777/zombiu-wii-u-review) as well as a weekly review of the Canadian spin-off ‘Primeval New World’ (starting with http://www.denofgeek.com/tv/primeval/23309/primeval-new-world-episode-1-review-the-new-world). I am very grateful to the site for accepting my work and love the writing and seeing my name up on the site, plus the mostly positive reviews my articles are getting.

In January I also began writing regularly for blog www.all-noise.co.uk, with a weekly round-up of that week’s singles and that’s something I’m still doing now, and I thank Luke for letting me do the article each week. Alongside this regular contribution I’ve also done lots of album reviews, countdown and much more, viewable at http://www.philip-lickley.co.uk/wp/journalism.

Thirdly I continued reviewing video games for site ‘Brash Games’ (thanks to Paul) and wrote many reviews over the course of 2012, viewable at http://www.brashgames.co.uk/author/philip-lickley/.

Also this month I scored nearly 1000 view on my tongue-in-cheek musings on how Sherlock Holmes could have survived his suicidal jump over at http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.com/2012/01/10-possible-explanations-for-sherlock.html, one of many posts I’ve made through the year to try and increase my experience of writing. Sadly, after a promising start last January, I’ve still yet to make any real progress with my novel.

But the biggest thing of January was my first trip abroad with good friends Ian and Rachael - http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/rachael-ian-and-phils-trip-to-france.html. We had an amazing time at Euro Disney and in Paris even though the weather was absolutely freezing but looking back on the week it was an amazing time, starting with a sight-seeing day in London and then heading into France. I really wish I could do it again.

Photos: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?Set=a.527340191704.18836.283300391&type=1

In the world of music I picked up a copy of Rudolf Rocker’s ‘The Whitby Scar’ (http://wavgoodbye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/rudolf-rocker-whitby-scar-review.html), gave my thoughts on the BBC’s ‘Sound of 2012’ poll (http://wavgoodbye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/my-thoughts-on-sound-of-2012.html) and talked about my dislike of the bonus tracks and deluxe albums (http://wavgoodbye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/disappointment-of-bonus-platinum-track.html).

And, as usual, I continued broadcasting two shows on RamAir, in the form of ‘Bitter and Pies’ and ‘...and be done with it’.

February: A better trip to hospital

In February I began my journey into hospital radio. Over 2012 I would be trained up at BRI and get my first show ‘Ultrasound’, as well as help out with their sixtieth birthday celebrations later in the year.

I continued my blog posts by looking at the unusual decision to edit the upcoming ‘The Pirates’ film due to a throw-away joke about leprosy that sparked a big debate (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/pirates-in-adventure-with-political.html) and also reviewing ‘The Muppets’ (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/muppets-2012-review.html), a brilliant film well worth seeing, but whether the sequel with Ricky Gervais appearing will be as good we’ll wait to see! I also wrote about my fourteen favourite comedy series.

I picked up a copy of Lana Del Rey’s excellent ‘Born To Die’ album early in February (http://wavgoodbye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/lana-del-rey-born-to-die-album-review.html) and got annoyed over Marcus Collins’ ripping-off of an earlier track (http://wavgoodbye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/two-nation-army-another-x-factor-rip.html).

March: I’m Porky and I Know It – are you?

In March I fulfilled a dream to see ‘An Inspectre Calls’ on stage, going to watch it with my parents at the Alhambra in Bradford. It was an incredible performance with a set that you have to see to believe – if you can catch it I’d highly recommend it! (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/inspector-calls-review.html)

In March I also watched the latest performance by the ever reliable BUSOM group at the University of Bradford and you can read my review at http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/busom-presents-iolanthe-theatre-in-mill.html. I also grabbed a copy of Meat Loaf’s new album which I reviewed at http://wavgoodbye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/meat-loaf-hell-in-handbasket-album.html.

Finally, having spent two years with Mike and Kev doing parody tracks, we finally entered the world of videos with this little gem:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/i2iQfhhyy0g?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

April: Student Radio, BCB, Steps, Parodies, 100 shows and hello new phone!

April started off rather busy at work with my birthday being put on hold as we were hosting the Student Radio Conference, three days of hard work and organisation but an event that was mostly pulled off successfully for the many student stations that came down even if the weather did throw snow at us on the third day. It’s a big thank you to everyone from me who helped on both sides of the event as it couldn’t have been achieved without a lot of hard work from everyone. Good luck to Leicester who are hosting it this year!

Work with RamAir continued to be fun this year as we got a new studio and playout system which we’re just about getting to grips with now!

I treated myself after this to see one of my favourite bands as a child – Steps – live at the MEN Arena, a great gig if not quite up to Take That from the previous year (http://wavgoodbye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/steps-mcr-arena-10th-april-2012-review.html).

Back in December I recorded a one-off pilot on BCB – Bradford’s local community radio station – and in April I started broadcasting this regularly in a half-hour format. ‘Paper Cuts’ goes out weekly at 1pm on a Wednesday and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed doing it so far.

Also in April I reviewed two massive films – The Pirates! (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/pirates-in-adventure-with-scientists.html) and an unexpectedly incredible film ‘The Cabin In The Woods (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/cabin-in-woods-movie-review.html) which is a definite must see! I also misjudgingly bought Sean Paul’s new album, which was not so good (http://wavgoodbye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/sean-paul-tomahawk-technique.html).

April was also the month in which my mobile phone finally bit the dust with the screen smashing and becoming unusable, so I finally dipped my toe into the smartphone market with a HTC One S. After finding the e-mail alerts more annoying than helpful but equally becoming more involved with Facebook, Twitter, Draw Something and Words With Friends (not sure if any of that is a good thing), I was glad to have changed phones in the end (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/one-day-with-htc-one-s.html).

Finally, April was also the hundredth edition of the ‘...and be done with it’ show on the 25^th, which came a week after we did our second totally live show, which you can hear some bits of at http://www.andbedonewithit.co.uk/wp/page/4/. We also did our second parody album in this month which you can hear in full at http://www.andbedonewithit.co.uk/wp/humour/autotuned-2-hell-parody-album-2/.

May: Electric Six and food safety

This Month was a busy time for blog posts, reviewing ‘The Avengers’ (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/avengers-assemble-review.html - not so good), ‘American Reunion (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/american-reunion-review.html - better) and ‘The Hunger Games’ (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/hunger-games-review.html - Best). I also saw the BUSOM summer concert (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/busom-boys-vs-girls-2012-summer-concert.html) and mused on the changes to the Gadget Show which finally put me off watching a show I’d enjoyed for many years (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/what-have-they-done-to-gadget-show.html).

I also spoke about the terrestrial showing of series five of ‘Primeval’ (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/primeval-series-five-to-make.html), a show that is still sitting in re-commissioning limbo and Tim Vine’s departure from my favourite sitcom ‘Not Going Out’ (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/tim-vine-is-going-out-as-he-leaves.html) and we’ll see what effect that has on it when series six debuts in early 2013.

Musically I bought a copy of Dick Valentine’s acoustic album ‘Destroy The Children’ (A great listen - http://wavgoodbye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/dick-valentine-destroy-children-review.html) and saw him live acoustically in Fibbers, York at the end of the month, another brilliant appearance from a great singer-songwriter (http://wavgoodbye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/dick-valentine-acoustic-live-review.html).

The month ended with the ‘Party On The Amp’ event at work which was our busiest yet and the sun shone once more, followed by me going back to college to sit my Level 2 Award in Food Safety in Catering which I passed.

June: Easy as Pi?

In June I continued my summer viewing of films with the great ‘Men In Black 3’, which I’ve just got on BluRay and enjoyed it as much the second time around (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/men-in-black-3-review.html) plus ‘Top Cat’ (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/top-cat-movie-movie-review.html) which, despite the negative reviews, is actually more fun than you might think if you’re a fan of the original cartoon.

On the box I watched and reviewed the Jubilee concert (http://wavgoodbye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/jubilee-concert-4th-june-2012.html) and thought about the ten funny things I’d like to see at it (http://wavgoodbye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/10-things-i-want-to-see-from-tonights.html). I continued to write down my thoughts on all matter of things from the cash-in cover song (http://wavgoodbye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/update-rise-of-cash-in-cover-song.html), to Muse’s ‘Survival’ song (http://wavgoodbye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/muse-survival-official-london-2012.html)  to Jessie J’s copyright claim (http://wavgoodbye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/jessie-j-vs-loomis-and-lust-in.html).

I also decided to buy a Raspberry Pi and after a long wait it finally turned up this month. It turned out to be a gold-trap and not as easy to set-up and use as promised, and I’ve still not fully got to grips with the piece of kit. It may inspire a new generation of young computer programmers, but to me it lacked the simplicity of the BASIC computers I used as a young kid in school (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/phils-adventures-with-his-raspberry-pi.html). I will have to come back to it to see if I can spend some more time to fathom it out.

I subscribed to a new magazine in June, to go with my ‘Private Eye’, ‘Official Nintendo Magazine’ and ‘Fortean Times’ subscriptions. ‘Wonderpedia’ is a great monthly magazine with lots of interesting articles on a wide range of subjects and well worth picking up, though it took me a month or so to get the first issue due to a mistake in the distribution centre (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/wonderpedia-new-magazine.html).

June was also the time of E3 with Nintendo releasing the first details of their upcoming WiiU console. You can read my thoughts on the show at http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/nintendo-e3-in-nutshell.html.

I also took time in June to muse on a variety of subjects, such as ITV’s poor treatment of it’s ‘Primeval’ show (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/are-itv-letting-primeval-fail.html); the upcoming new entry in the ‘Tomb Raider’ franchise (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/has-tomb-raider-series-lost-its-way.html); and my thoughts on the Cofilmic event myself and friend Liam Walters attended in Bradford in the first of my steps in the year to expand my knowledge of script writing (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/cofilmic-films-my-thoughts.html). It was a great session with some hilarious short films and though the comedy sketches I submitted to the competition weren’t winners, it was a useful bit of experience for me.

July: Hotpots, Alnwick Castle and the Olympics

I continued to review movies in June with the Amazing Spider-man, perhaps not as amazing as the title but still good (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/amazing-spider-man-review.html), and the much better  ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/the-dark-knight-rises-spoiler-filled.html).

I also headed over to Sheffield’s ‘Magna’ in the month to play some of the retro games available there and have a first-play on the new 3DS Mario game and the ‘Beat The Beat’ Wii game (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/day-out-at-magna.html) even if I did feel out of place going on my own!

I saw the Lancashire Hotpots live in this month (the first of four times I’d see them in the second half of the year by luck more than good management) in what was a really strong gig (http://wavgoodbye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/lancashire-hotpots-dukes-lancaster.html) as well as picking up their latest album (http://wavgoodbye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/the-lancashire-hotpots-hard-days-pint.html).

I continued to offer the people of the internet my thoughts on things including the London 2012 opening ceremony (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/the-london-2012-olympics-ceremony.html) and even broke into verse to sum up the first three days of the summer event - http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/london-2012-olympics-days-1-3.html.

On the 22^nd I went on a trip with work to Alnwick Castle. The weather was brilliant and the day great fun! Though we did visit the Poison Garden and I took a photo of cannabis, which means that image occasionally appears on the home screen of my phone. Nice.

I also spoke about the sad passing of actor Geoffrey Hughes in July, sadly missed (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/geoffrey-hughes-few-thoughts.html).

August: Sketch Show and Stand-Up Comedy

In August I went to the National Media Museum in Bradford to see their demonstration of ‘Super Hi-Def’, which was an experience if not that overwhelming (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/my-thoughts-on-super-hi-vision.html).

It was also the month I finished off my pilot for a sketch show which you can hear below – thanks to everyone who contributed a voice! Hopefully if I plug this more it will be picked up – or maybe not!

[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/55534149" params="" width=" 100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]

I also did something different this month, heading off to a BBC Radio 2 stand-up comedy workshop with friend Liam in Leeds on Monday 20^th August and we each did five minutes of stand-up in front of an audience. It was a nerve-wracking experience but one that was really rewarding, and the day after I went to see the more seasoned newbies do it!

It wasn't all fun and good news. I had entered some of my demos into the Sony Radio Awards but sadly didn't get anything!

I put my hand in my pocket and bought the new 3DS Mario game and you can read my thoughts on it at http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/new-super-mario-bros-2-3ds-review.html.

I also reviewed the closing ceremony of the Olympics (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/the-london-2012-olympics-closing.html) and the opening ceremony of the Paraolympic games (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/the-paralympics-opening-ceremony.html).

Speaking of the Olympics, I reviewed the CDs for the respective ceremonies (http://wavgoodbye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/isles-of-wonder-music-for-opening.html and http://wavgoodbye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/a-symphony-of-british-music-music-for.html)  and Spector’s excellent debut album (http://wavgoodbye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/spector-enjoy-it-while-it-lasts-album.html).

Finally I gave my thoughts on Tim Vine’s new game show (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/dont-blow-inheritance-itv1-5pm.html) and compiled my favourite music videos ever (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/best-music-videos-ever-part-one.html).

September: The Paralympics and Bingley Music Live

The highlight of the month was my visit to the Paralympics on the 9^th September. I wasn’t particularly bothered about seeing any matches – though I got to see 7-a-side football – but I wanted the opportunity to say I’d been there. The park was incredible, the attractions brilliant and the weather during the day was great, so overall a fantastic trip and well worth the ten hours on a coach on the round day trip.

September began in a fun way with my annual trip to local festival ‘Bingley Music Live’, an event I’ve been to all but one of. The weather held out, the acts were great and the two additional stages well done. My thoughts and reviews can be found at http://wavgoodbye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/bingley-music-live-day-one.html; http://wavgoodbye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/bingley-music-live-day-two.html and http://wavgoodbye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/bingley-music-live-day-three.html.

In the world of television, September was all about ‘Doctor Who’ and I reviewed all five episodes as well as spoofing them for the continuing parody series of ‘DJ Who’ for my radio show ‘...and be done with it’. (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/doctor-who-asylum-of-daleks-review.html; http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/doctor-who-dinosaurs-on-spaceship.html; http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/doctor-who-town-called-mercy-review.html; http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/doctor-who-power-of-three-review.html; http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/doctor-who-angels-take-manhattan-review.html).

You can hear our five radio spoofs at http://www.andbedonewithit.co.uk/wp/humour/dj-who/.

Back in the world of music I picked up the Killers new album and reviewed it at http://wavgoodbye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/the-killers-battle-born-album-review.html.

October: Hotpots and weddings!

This month I went to the wedding of friends Andrew and Maggie Roberts – it was a great day – and I wish them all the best for the future!

In October I saw a couple of films, the acclaimed but ultimately disappointing ‘Looper’ (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/looper-movie-review.html) but the far more enjoyable and ‘film of the year’ James Bond flick ‘Skyfall’ (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/skyfall-review.html). I also wrapped up warm with some friends to watch ‘Coraline’ in the City Park, armed with a marshmallow-filled hot chocolate and requiring a good warming up in Lloyds (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/coraline-outside-screening-in-city-park.html).

Bradford did it’s ‘Garden of Light’ this month in the City Park, which was a great attraction to visit, especially on the Saturday night when it was busy with Bradfordians, showcasing another event pulling together residents of the city.

I picked up two great albums in October, the long-awaited live album from Electric Six (http://wavgoodbye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/electric-six-absolute-pleasure-live.html) and the Evil Cowards follow-up ‘Moving Through Security’ (http://wavgoodbye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/evil-cowards-moving-through-security.html).

I also made my third visit to see the Hotpots (they appeared at September’s ‘Bingley Music Live’ for my second) though a friend not being able to make the gig. They were great as always! (http://wavgoodbye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/the-lancashire-hotpots-well-leeds.html)

Finally, I was also asked to be the joint-best man to my friend Mike alongside Kev for his wedding next year, which was a massive honour, and I wish the pair all the best for their future together!

November: More radio, story writing, WiiU and piano

In November I attempted Movember. I can’t grow a moustache. Let’s forget it happened.

This month – on the 12^th – I began broadcasting a twice-weekly breakfast show on BCB with friend Ant Smith and that’s going well, with a great one-hour show every Monday and Tuesday morning at 8pm (http://www.facebook.com/BradfordBAP). As part of this I also got to interview local roller derby team ‘The Bruising Banditas’ for a feature on the show (hear the full version at https://soundcloud.com/philip-lickley/interview-with-the-bruising).

November was a month of live gigs. In the four short weeks I saw Spector (http://wavgoodbye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/spector-supported-by-splash-and-swim.html), Electric Six (http://wavgoodbye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/electric-six-fibbers-york-wednesday.html) and my fourth and final ‘The Lancashire Hotpots’ show (http://wavgoodbye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/the-lancashire-hotpots-fibbers-york.html). Back at home I was listening to Robbie’s new album ‘Take The Crown’ (http://wavgoodbye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/robbie-williams-take-crown-deluxe.html).

Back in August I entered a short-story writing competition in York and sadly found out in November I didn’t win but you can read my two entries at http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/ghost-by-philip-lickley.html and http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/the-new-prescription-by-philip-lickley.html.

I also continued to review BUSOM performances with their scratch (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/busom-presents-scratch-enfreude-review.html) and attended the switching on of the Bradford Christmas lights which was a rare drop in quality of events in the City Park (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/bradford-christmas-lights-switch-on.html).

November was also the month that the WiiU came out and as a life-long Nintendo fan I picked up a copy alongside two extra games and, as I write this, am thoroughly enjoying the new console and it was a good decision to get one.

Finally, a New Year’s resolution from several years previously was finally completed as I passed my grade one piano exam and started on the road to grade two. Thank you to Matt my teacher for lots of patience!

December: Panto, student film, and a trip to London!

As December came round I reviewed the final BUSOM performance of the year (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/busom-villains-minions-and-monsters.html) and gave my thoughts on some of the things on television over the festive period (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/the-snowman-and-snowdog-review.html and http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/a-few-thoughts-on-christmas-day.html).

December saw the final ‘...and be done with it’ show of the year, with our regular pound shop challenge, which you can hear at http://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/3066468.

As my working year finished, we had a fantastic Christmas Market at work and then after term ended my first publically performed scripted work in the UBU Christmas Pantomime. Warning: in-jokes and dodgy humour aplenty!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/yb81aKwiK9A?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I also featured in a small role in a student’s film so we’ll see how that comes out in the new year! It was also the month of the staff Chrismas party, which was as fun as ever!

The highlight of the month, though, had to be my trip down to London with friend Carl to see ‘Electric Six’ live down in Shepherd’s Bush as well as sight-seeing in the capital. In a year that I started off in France and ended up in this weekend away, it was rounded off brilliantly. You can read my thoughts on the weekend at http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/phil-and-carls-magical-trip-to-london.html and the gig at http://wavgoodbye.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/electric-six-live-at-shepherds-bush.html.

Photos: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.539035554104.20957.283300391&type=1

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.539032939344.20955.283300391&type=1

I returned to York for Christmas and we paid our annual visit to the pantomime at the Theatre Royal and once more were not disappointed! (http://it-is-phil-time.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/robin-hood-and-his-merry-mam-panto.html).

Overall

In summary I can’t believe how busy a year it has been. I’ve started doing much more in radio, more articles and trying to build up my portfolio. I’m still enjoying my time working for the University of Bradford Students’ Union – I couldn’t ask for nicer colleagues or a more engaging job – but equally am keeping my eye out for jobs in radio but we’ll see how that progresses in 2013!

(I’m sure I’ll have missed something this year so expect some updates!)

A Few Thoughts On Christmas Day Television

Yesterday was Christmas Day and always a good day for things on the box even if yesterday was perhaps not the most exciting line-up we’ve had recently.

The Top of the Pops Christmas Special (BBC1, 2pm) was as fun as usual and once more cements that it should be on a weekly basis to showcase the music now we have some more interesting artists than the tedious in-studio acts of the late noughties. Granted the artists on show weren’t the most interesting – Robbie William’s ‘Candy’ was up first and the highlight of the show with diminishing returns – but did at least cover a good range of the year’s big hitters. Carly Rae Jepsen, in front of a set seemingly stolen from ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ sounded disappointingly off and Coldplay, who got a pretty good trailer for their live DVD, couldn’t be bothered coming into the studio. The X-Factor finalist proved he could sing live but wailed on at the end and the Christmas number one was a VT as pulling together all of the artists would have been tricky. Gangnam style made a brief appearance as did many covers, including the beautiful ‘The Power of Love’ by Gabrielle Aplin and the average ‘Never Tear Us Apart’ from Paloma Faith, chosen over her other, far better, original singles. Girls Aloud proved to be morphing into each other with two camps seemingly set away from Cheryl. Overall not a bad hour of mostly live music but the lack of the usual annual karaoke option, a few odd song choices and the lack of any cheeky Savile jokes from the hosts knocked it back a bit.

The Queen followed (BBC1, 3pm) with her first annual broadcast filmed in 3D. We don’t have a 3D television but it was hard to see what impact the third dimension would have had on the broadcast. I wanted the Queen to at least punch the screen or throw Prince Harry a Bacardi Breezer to off camera but there was no trickery like that. I’m not sure if the VTs of the damp flotilla were also in 3D to see the rain, gloom and impending bladder infection from Prince Philip, but it was a nice enough speech covering the Olympics, Paraolympics and Jubilee, but was lacking the Queen riffing on how Cheryl Cole couldn’t sing at the concert, Boris Johnson couldn’t dance in the Olympics and any visual 3D diagrams of extreme morning sickness.

Later we had Room on the Broom (BBC1, 4:35pm) a delightful CGI animation from the people behind the last two year’s Gruffallo shows, and the writer behind the books. It told the story of a witch and her cat who stumble across a series of animals as she loses various possessions like a careless extra from Harry Potter. The show reaches its dénouement as an evil, and rather podgy, dragon attacks the team but is stopped by team work. The story is very similar in theme to the Gruffallo – child-friendly repetitive rhymes, meeting animals, tricking a monster – so has a sense of over familiarity about it – and they even re-use the model of the squirrel and snake – but it was an enjoyable, extremely well animated tale with some great voice actors and set-up. Plus, it employed many excellent visual jokes that you’d blink and miss and was great not just for kids, but bigger kids. The ending was sudden but was another great slice of animation this Christmas after ‘The Snowman and the Snowdog’ with a few similarities: familiar, recreating an older idea but with some fresher elements.

It was then time for the next episode of Doctor Who (BBC1, 5:15pm), this year entitled ‘The Snowmen’ and introducing the next companion played by Jemma Louise-Coleman. The festive specials are usually the weaker episodes in the run and this year was not that different, but compared to the other entries in this series which weren’t as big and fun as the excellent series five and great series six, it was nearly up to par. Outside of the plot we got new opening credits which were much more like the classic Who titles. They looked great, the music was as fun as ever in their tweaked state but didn’t feel as long or as dramatic. The TARDIS interior got a paintjob as well and looked good, but with no explanation as to why.

The plot itself was fun. A child discovers he can project his thoughts into intelligent snow and starts building up an army of killer, scary snowman, waiting for the frozen body of a children’s nanny that fell into a frozen pond to come to life so they can replicate human DNA and create an army of snow clones. This is set aside by an investigation from a reluctant Doctor, still hurting from the deaths of the Ponds, in conjunction with a Sontaran and a lesbian double-act of a Silurian and human detective team, who it’s revealed through a conversation with successful baddie Richard E Grant, that they’re the inspiration for the Sherlock Holmes character, a moniker that the Doctor later adopts briefly complete with Deerstalker. I think writer Stephen Moffat must have been drunk over the summer and got his franchises confused.

If that brief summary sounds confusing you’d be right. The plot in the special speeded ahead at such a pace that it was difficult to keep up with at times. The Sontaran guard was the best character in the special with some great funny lines but his appearance once more showed Moffat’s lack of care for realistic explanations – even in Sci-Fi – with only a brief mention as to why he’s no longer dead after being killed earlier on in the run. Matt Smith was great once more as the Doctor, and Jenna Louise-Coleman promising in her second appearance as the assistant, and her death at the end and realisation that her character is scattered through time is an interesting twist, as the Doctor recognises her voice and traits from the ‘Asylum of the Daleks’ episode. She seemed to know more than she let on and at the beginning it seemed the Doctor recognised her – even though he never saw her in the first episode, something he does mention in the episode – so it all seemed rather confusing.

The CGI was impressive in the piece as were most of the cast, and the spiral-staircase up to the TARDIS on the cloud appeared magical and fitted in with the Christmas Special. It was a confusing episode to follow and the destruction of the big bad at the end twee and overly sentimental but the twist at the end somewhat made up for it. It was difficult to keep up with the episode with some lines hard to follow, necessitating a quick rewind of the action, and there seemed an overall lack of surprise when people were approached by a lizard woman. That said, though the one-word conversation seemed forced between Coleman and said Silurian, the ‘Pond’ word was a neat bit of writing.

Not the worst Christmas special but not the most exciting ever, but the filmography and imagery was great and the Sontaran general well written, but it’s the final plot twist that will keep the series going.

Strictly Come Dancing (BBC1, 6:15pm) came straight after and saw six dancers taking part in a variety of, well, dances. I don’t watch SCD that often but it was an interesting way to wile away sixty minutes in the company of cheesy jokes from Bruce Forsyth and a funny montage at the start of Bobby Ball’s dance. The bloke from JLS won it, no one else embarrassed themselves. Anne Widdecombe and Russell Grant made the briefest of brief appearances so didn’t have time to add some comedy factor. An OK festive special with a nice performance from Rod “Screeching Scotsman” Stewart.

Our final watch of the night, outside of watching the repeat of ‘The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff’, an amazing short-film, was The Royle Family (BBC1, 9:45pm). I never really consistently watched the show when it was on properly but have watched all the Christmas specials over the past few years. This one seemed the most surreal of the lot with an opening fifteen minutes that saw plenty of crude jokes in the direction of erectile dysfunction that seemed to be dealt in a weird way by the cast suggesting it was a misunderstanding, but it wasn’t. The best plot strand was neighbour Joe going on a series of first dates in the Royle household with a series of great characterisations and some blink-and-you’ll-miss-them visual jokes as their names are crossed off a list (Chinese lady lives on ‘Great Wall St’, a suspiciously butch woman on ‘Tranny Ave’ etc). The individual threads of ‘Dragon’s Den’, Joe’s dipsy Irish date, Dave’s problems downstairs, the borrowed drill and a sneaky win by Jim on a scratchcard all came together nicely in the final meal at the end, a neat tying up of several disparate plotlines. It was perhaps the crudest episode I’ve seen and it felt, at times, a little desperate for humour with the Christmas Pudding / Breasts montage near the end a little cringey, but it had some great laugh-out-loud moments and plenty of innuendo and was worth a watch, plus included a brief mention to actor Geoffrey Hughes who we sadly lost this year.

So, not a bad day of television overall. But, as you can see, dominated by BBC1. What happened to the other channels on this most festive of days?