Don't know if you're aware of The Amazing James Randi or not. He's a magician, who amongst other things performed a guillotine trick with Alice Cooper during one of his world tours and brought Penn and Teller together.

But he's most famous for debunking Uri Geller during the 70s, appearing on numerous chat shows to demonstrate the exact same tricks that Geller performs, but without claiming psychic powers. He's like Derren Brown - and indeed Penn and Teller - but older.

He's also famous for his million dollar challenge, in which he promises to give $1 million to anyone who can demonstrate psychic or supernatural powers under mutually agreed conditions.

Anyway, he's returning to UK screens* - assuming the contracts get sorted - to do a show based on his $1 million challenge for Channel 4. He's going to have a panel of scientifically qualified people of all persuasions to help him. That's all the details I've managed to glean so far from his latest podcast. Fingers crossed it'll all come together.

* You might also remember him from his ITV show, James Randi - Psychic Investigator, which aired in 1991.

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Doctor Who

• BBC7 to run companion show to Doctor Who, as well as Paul McGann repeats. Guest hosts include David Tennant and Catherine Tate

Film

• New Indiana Jones TV spot
• Sean Connery fancies returning to acting as a Bond villain
• Ben Affleck fooled by Bruno?

British TV

• Entire cast of Skins to be replaced for third series [free registration required]

US TV

• Ian McShane to play a king in modern version of King David
• Quincy sues NBC over profits
• Kristen Bell returning to Heroes
• Flash Gordon probably cancelled
• Knight Rider TV series gets the go-ahead

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Read other posts about: Heroes

Some of the forthcoming titles in the Eighth Doctor range of Big Finish plays, which haven't been desperately impressive this season, have had name changes. Kidnapped has been renamed Sisters of the Flame and Vengeance is now Vengeance of Morbius. They sound a bit more interesting, don't they? There's a trailer available for Sisters of the Flame from the ever-"quirky" Big Finish web site.

Incidentally, the Eighth Doctor range is now available for download at £8.99 per story (down from £10.99 for a CD).

Read other posts about: Big Finish

I'm quite a fan of David Quantick. He's written for just about every comedy programme going. He's collaborated with Charlie Brooker and Chris Morris. He is, to put it bluntly, a talented man.

How, then, to react to the idea of a David Quantick comedy play, particularly one written for the seventh Doctor?

Is it going to be of the science fiction/Doctor Who milieu or is it going to be some random piece of comedy that takes the piss?Is it going to be of the terminally rubbish (but beloved by Big Finish) comedic season 24, or is it going to be of the darker season 25/26 style? Is Quantick going to know the characters and the back story, particularly of new companion Hex, played by Philip "Brookside/The Games/Naked calendars" Olivier? Is it, in short, going to be rubbish, or is it going to be worth listening to?

On balance, I'd say, if it weren't for the slight hindrances of Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred, it would actually be all right.

Continue reading "Review: Doctor Who - The Dark Husband"

Read other posts about: Big Finish, Charlie Brooker, Chris Morris

What do you reckon? Should I have broken in and handed out leaflets for Welsh Assembly-funded training courses?

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I know it's a bit late, but I was away over the weekend and didn't have the time to string together a review until now.

So why am I bothering? Well, there's the fact that BBC3 jessied around the schedules again so there was no Torchwood finale to laugh at (although, given James Marsters was on Smallville this week as well, I'm not sure the TV set could have taken the resulting Marsters overload if it had been).

But I also wanted to sing you a song. It's from that wonderful comedy show Absolutely, which should be coming out on DVD any minute now. It goes like this:

I'm clever, so terribly clever
So clever, so terribly clever…

Continue reading "Season finale: Ashes to Ashes"

Read other posts about: Ashes to Ashes, Smallville, Torchwood