My brother was acting a bit odd today. Not in a bad way but constantly making people tea. I dunno if he was trying to suck up so he could go out tonight, or if he was possesed by Annie from being human. My bet is on the latter, it is the more logical. ;)

Also recieved an electoral register form for my address in Belfast. Guess things are getting serious there then. Not that I am complaining, as I am really happy at the place. A few of the other housemates moved out lately (either just  due to uni or in one unforunate case becoming unemployed.) Met one of the new housemates on Friday. Seemed decent enough, but then I try to give people the benefit of the doubt.

Still, Monday coming is PDP time at work, can't say that I am looking forward to it that much. Oh well, needs to be done, I suppose.

Not much else really to report- still been playing System Shock 2, and on youtube been watching some old kids shows. Both stuff from my own childhood, like Kablam  and other stuff that I had merely heard of like Hey Vern, it's Ernest. By no means sophisticated, but a lot of fun.

Granted, making fun of David Caruso's acting (or lack thereof) is easy, but this stil amused me.

I mean, for me there is only one CSI series, and I've stopped watching it since Morpheus showed up.

The above quote comes from the classic "I, Claudius" starring Professor Yana, Quentin Crisp and Prince Vultan from Flash Gordon. Among others. Seriously though, it is one of my favourite TV dramas, and I've started rewatching it on DVD. It was one of my dad's christmas presents, but as he has a bad habit of well, not watching anything unless someone else is, I figured I should get some good from it.

One thing I will say that still amazes me is how restrained and nuanced Brian Blessed's portrayal of Augustus is. Sure, he does have his shouty moments, but it showed that when the occasion called for it, he could be subtle. Then again from what I've seen of him in Z Cars and  that one episode of The Avengers he was in, that he's a really good actor. I'm just wondering when exactly he transmogrified into the BRIAN BLESSED we all know and love.

So yes, "I, Claudius" is tremendous. The only problem I have with it is that it is very much a show that you need breaks in between watching episodes, you couldn't really watch a bunch of it in a row. Still, at least it takes the time to tell the story well. A problem I have with a lot of modern television is that it seems we've gone from one extreme to the other, where everything has become too frantic and sped-up. And I find the excuse about audiences' attention spans (or lack thereof) a bit insulting. I find generally viewers that if a story is well told, most viewers, will stick with it.

I'd originally written a whole rant about the above subject, but decided to cut it. Instead I'll talk about what else I've been watching. After watching Spoony's review of "Ripper", featuring among others Scott Cohen, I decided to rewatch "The Tenth Kingdom". It's a mini-series that was done in 1999, and it was a childhood favourite of mine.

 I'm going to try and explain the basic premise: There's an alternative dimension where not only magic is real, but the fairy stories like Cinderella, Red Riding Hood etc. actually happened. This land is divided into 9 kingdoms. Prince Wendell, next in line to the 4th kingdom (Snow White's kindgom) gets transformed into a dog by his Evil Stepmother. He escapes via a magic mirror and ends up in the mythical tenth kingdom, our world. A young woman named Virginia and her dad find the dog, and cross back over into the land of the 9 kingdoms.  So they have to try and find a way of returning Wendell and also find a way back home. Scott Cohen plays Wolf, a character who flip-flops between being good and evil, but is always entertaining. For example when we first encounter him he's in prison for sheep worrying. And at one point he tries to eat Virginia's grandmother.

The rest of the cast is good as well. It includes among others  Ed O Neil, Rutger Hauer, Jimmy Nail, Warwick Davis and Dianne Wiest. Ann-Margaret is in it briefly as Queen Cinderella.

Generally it's as good as I remembered, but there are certain times when  the amount of coincidence... does stretch credibility a bit. But since it doesnt' take itself too seriously, I was pretty forgiving. For instance, it features a hilarious parody of the "one of us always lies" riddle.

Oh yes, and it also has one of the best title sequences ever.