Raven

Cloverfield Better than I was expecting it to be; a good update of the old 50's B-movies.

There has been some Flashman films, hasn't there? (I've never seen them, so I've no idea what they are like).

There are time when I think I'm might be slightly dyslexic, I just read: As:

Casino Royale I'm in two minds about this, there were some very Bond moments in the film, but it kind of went off the rails about half-way through and never really recovered. I'm also not sure what it was all about! (I know Quantum of Solace picks up where this left off, so I think I will have to watch it to make sense of this, but really, you shouldn't have to make a sequel to explain the previous film!). Craig made a good, ruthless Bond though, and I can certainly see why the film was so popular with the ladies! (how many times did we see him without a shirt on?!). Special marks for Judi Dench, she was excellent, as always!

Result! (I'm choosing to ignore the rest of your post!).

Now that's a library! I like the knife, is that to deter people who break spines?!

It's not a huge amount to ask, is it?

And spoilers Michelle! (think of Chesilbeach!).

Make love, not war! Boobies! (admit it, you blushed!).

Spoilers Kell! @BigWords:

Sex scenes aren't always pornographic and, conversely, I've read some very descriptive sex scenes that have been far from a turn on (not because they are badly written or anything, but because they are a part of story and arousal just doesn't come into it). Sex is just a tool (no pun intended), it is part of life and it can be used to enhance a story or detract from it. When it is used by a good writer it can help a story and when it is used by a poor one it can screw it up (no pun intended). Sex itself isn't the problem, bad writers are. And remember folks, without sex none of us would be here!

Join us, and your journey to the Dark Side will be complete!

Had a thought, and here they are: 1. Takahashi After Dark, by Haruki Murakami After Dark was the first Murakami novel I read, and Takahashi just stole it for me. There's nothing particularly amazing about the character, but his laid back manner has a definite charm and it just makes him very cool indeed. It's the only time I can recall finishing a book and being genuinely disappointed that I would never read about a character again. 2. Jack Coker The Day of the Triffids, by John Wyndham Wyndham wrote so many wonderful characters, but everyman Jack Coker is my favourite. He is an old head on young shoulders, who has a practical, no-nonsense approach but there is also a streak of back-talking cheek thrown in. If I was facing the end of civilisation, I couldn

I think , as far as I can tell.

The titles of the first three episodes of the next series have been announced. I won't post them here - to avoid spoilerage for some - but I must say I do like the title of episode 3!

Ah, you found them! (I went looking for them last night and failed!).

Asteroid Collision! Very cool!

I think that was pretty much the general feeling; a missed opportunity.

By and large, the books I tend to read don't have much sex in them (Wyndham and Wells weren't exactly known for their sex scenes!), but that's not really by design and I don't usually have a problem with a bit of rumpy-pumpy when it occurs. Murakami uses sex like a sledge hammer; it's usually quite graphically described and raw, but I've never found it over the top or out of place. On the other hand, a few years back I read a road-accident of a book called Succubus Blues, by Richelle Mead, and the sex in that was just boring (to the point that I skipped over the last couple of encounters entirely). As others have said, if it is a part of the plot I don't have a problem with it but if it pulls you out of the story it shouldn't be there.

Just finished Unseen Academicals, very good! (review up soon). Did anyone see Terry giving the Dimbleby Lecture this evening? I was still reading and missed it, but I intend to catch it on iPlayer at some point.

I'd add Life of Mars to the list of "fantastic" drama series, the first series was one of the best pieces of television for years. It's not recent, but if you can track down a copy I highly recommend the Channel Four series Ultraviolet as well. A vampire story that never uses the "V" word that is streets ahead of the emo tosh being pumped out now. On the comedy front I can recommend The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, the short lived but quirky The Class and top of the pile Futurama!

Dreadful film! Deep Impact was miles better, but that's not saying much!

This bad boy was on my desk at work when I got in this morning: 1

Now that's a damning statement, if ever I head one!

As I said, the CDs I have been buying are full cast dramatisations of original Doctor Who scripts, and they largely feature four of the earlier incarnations of the Doctor (as played by Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Paul McCann). Of those I can highly recommend the Peter Davison stories Creatures of Beauty and Spare Parts, two very good stores, and also the Sylvester McCoy story The Harvest. There are over 150 stories to choose from though, and I only have half a dozen or so, so I can't really recommend any more than that. Of the book adaptations they have done of New Who stories, I've only heard The Stone Rose, which was given away free in the Radio Times a few years back, and that's okay.