Well, I had all sorts of plans for last week, scuppered by a cold that left me without the energy for blogging (all that typing, it’s hard). I caught an episode of Commander in Chief on one of my days off – oh dear, oh dear. It’s not exactly The West Wing, is it? Or, more precisely, it absolutely isn’t. Everything that’s great about the latter – rounded, interesting characters, top notch dialogue, excellent direction, thoughtful stories – was notable by it’s absence. Commander in Chief – now axed, I believe – seemed more like a soap in which the lead happened to be a female president than a serious drama.

On Saturday, as my cold was finally waving goodbye, I went to the cinema to see Severance. Its writer, James Moran, has a blog, which I mention only to add that I don’t usually like to criticise other bloggers.

Severance pitches itself as a comedy horror film, but is neither funnier enough to class as a comedy, scary enough to be horror, nor surprising enough to be a decent thriller. There’s plenty of violence, most of which seems to be about grossing out the audience – not gratuitious exactly, but it lends little to the story, such that it is. This involves a group of (fairly unlikeable) characters becoming stranded in a forest in Eastern Europe and getting butchered – not exactly the most original concept in the canon of modern horror. The cast – which include Tim McInnerny off of Blackadder and Toby Stephens – are little more than OK, with the overpromoted Danny Dyer being a particularly noticeable detraction.

There are one or two good moments (an escort girl with a machine gun; a small twist just when you think the leads have won the day), but nothing that was worth the admission price and the expensive popcorn (and having to put up with a handful of idiots in the audience). The use of the pre-titles sequence was a little innovative, but really this was the most disappointing film I’ve seen at the cinema for some time (although there’s always The Wicker Man to look forward to).

I like to offer you a different view, so here’s an alternative take from David Bishop.

Update: Here’s another review, from Alan.

Doctor Who has picked up three more gongs, this time at the TV Quick/TV Choice Awards:

Cult BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who won best-loved drama award, with its stars David Tennant and Billie Piper taking best actor and actress.

Hurrah.

I see from Bernie that today is Blog Day 2006 – who knew? Apparently we’re supposed to recommend five blogs:

Bloggers from all over the world will post a recommendation of 5 new Blogs, Preferably, Blogs different from their own culture, point of view and attitude

There’s a little time left before midnight, so here are five from my sidebar who I recommend and which differ from the sort of content you get here.

• Popular, in which Tom Ewing reviews every UK number #1 since the dawn of time
• Glitter for Brains, a slightly explicit and very pink blog written by a Gentleman Who Understands Fashion
• A Beautiful Revolution, featuring heart-rending doodles that I can’t describe; visit and see for yourself
• Nothing Tra La La in which writer Simon Guerrier writes interesting things (yes, there’s a bit of Doctor Who in it, but don’t let that put you off)
• Indexed, the intersection of Venn diagrams and humour

The 25 lines quiz is still running – at the time of writing, eight opening lines have been correctly identified while seventeen are still there for the taking.

I have come down with a cold, so after a fuggy day at work yesterday I’m resting at home today and watching TV.

I’ve taken in a couple of episodes of Countdown, which I played along with and didn’t do too badly despite being unwell. I’ve watched Hairspray on DVD, and earlier in the week Good Night, And Good Luck, which is a very good film (and surprisingly short). It’s a little predictable (a lame criticism of a true story, I know) but stylishly made and very educational if you don’t know (as I didn’t) about Ed Murrow’s work against McCarthy. Last night I watched the stark John Hurt/Richard Burton film of 1984, as I trudge on through the book.

And now I find myself watching George W. Bush on BBC News 24. He’s in Salt Lake City giving a speech on terrorism and my word is he unbearable. His use of the term The Enemy implies that there is some sort of homogenous, scheming organisation at work, and reminds me of the propaganda of Big Brother. 2009 really can’t come soon enough.