What do snowmen wear on their heads?*

Quick post before I head back out to work.

Have you been watching Frozen Planet? My god... you think Attenborough's done his best documentaries, then the BBC comes out and show us why we pay for them. This show is absolutely beautiful, I would really advise watching it, despite the schism it has created in my group of friends. Around half of us have decided we're going to become extreme documentary filmmakers, thanks to the "Freeze Frame" section at the end of each episode, the other half have declared that it would be too cold/dangerous/"are you insane?"/unbearable to stand by at allow nature to take it's course (bye bye, cute fluffy penguins). Personally, I agree that it would be shocking, but how extraordinary to be able to say, "Yeah, I was involved in that. That was my shot." 

Really, there is some beautiful stuff in here. The score is perfect, the camera work is gorgeous, it is put together sublimely, and Sir David is, as always, David Attenborough. One and only. The only disappointment I do have is that the BBC have exported it as a six episode series, allowing networks the option of the seventh. The Discovery Channel in the US - amongst others - is declining to broadcast the final episode, which deals with climate change. They're denying this is censorship of a show for the massive numbers of climate change deniers in the States but, c'mon, really? 

Personally, I look forward to next week's penultimate episode hugely, and to the final in a fortnight. It's always nice to sit, nod and think about how perfect a broadcaster Attenborough is while agreeing with most of what he says.

And here are some penguins:

* "ice caps", if you're interested. Though I'd usually stuff a Trilby on it.

What music they make

I have a confession to make. 

I watch a lot of really crap television. People think of me as this high brow film snob, which I am a bit, but I watch a shitload of really bad television. I impose a sort of quota, where I only watch one at a time. Glee finished up for the season here in Britain a few weeks ago and I hadn't yet found myself new bollocks to watch... then i found out Fiona Shaw (a member of my Holy Watch List*) was on the new series of True Blood.

In the past three days I have watched two seasons, I'm just about to start the third.

I have one major reason for continuing to watch. The fangs make for great LOLage. Then fangs in the sex scenes, hilarious. I get immature and giggly enough at intimate contact on screen without them throwing in fangs. I didn't stand a chance. But otherwise it is actually genuinely engaging. The opening credits are well made and not as cringe-inducing as I expected them to be. The characters aren't awful, some are reasonably well rounded. I'm getting used to the surplus of Southern accents. There are some classic lines.

Yeah, it is undoubtedly crap, but it's good crap. I classify things into "Good Crap" (Glee, Torchwood, Ugly Betty, True Blood, Neighbours, so on) and "Bad Crap" (EastEnders, Dollhouse, Desperate Housewives, Casualty, &c), the latter is watched a few times then ditched, the former is as obsessive as, say, Doctor Who. 

I'm not big on the whole vampire fad - don't get me started on Twilight, as I like to state before having shoes thrown at me by ex-"Twihard" friends, I was up in arms against Twilight before it became fashionable to do so - but I have no objection to vampires on a television show (Buffy The Vampire Slayer is one of the few 'cult' or classic television programmes I watched in their first run - mostly I tend to catch up on a few years later) and these are good proper vampires. Sure, the garlic and the mirrors are myths - well explained - but there are stakes and sunlight and no sparkles. 

One thing I will not watch is most reality telly - Strictly Come Dancing is it, otherwise, I don't go near them. They are beyond crap.

*the Holy Watch List dictates that I must watch/attempt a film or television show if it has a particular actor in it. The actors on this list currently consist of:-

• Ian McKellen
• John Barrowman
• Fiona Shaw
• David Tennant
• Kristin Chenoweth
• Ewan McGregor
• Julie Walters
• Helena Bonham Carter
• John Cho
• Stephen Fry
• Alan Rickman

You have no idea the shite some of these guys have put me through. It's a good way of making new discoveries though. Sometimes I find myself liking something I never expected to. The list is subject to additions and reductions.

Sherlock: Quick Note

Thoroughly looking forward to the BBC's Sherlock (Series 2). Irene Adler will be making an appearance and The Hound of the Baskervilles has been updated and written by Mark Gatiss. He just posted this picture via Twitter:

Sherlock and the second part of Doctor Who Series 6 will be on in the Autumn, the further Americanised (I am keeping an open mind, I am keeping an open mind) Torchwood in the summer. Good end of year. Spiffy. Time to go set up for the mid-series finale now though.

Going to see X-Men: First Class with my sister tomorrow with my sister. Looking forward to it despite the hideous lack of Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen.