Wicked.

"Basically for a Netflix standup special, you've got to get all the things that you can't say because of political correctness gone mad & the woke brigade, then you put them all together, and you say them. And you find that you CAN say them after all. With the full approval of all Netflix advertisers, lawyers & shareholders for a $60 m payout & a Grammy award. And that, being shown all over the world and getting a $60 m payout & a Grammy award - that's called being cancelled."

- Stewart Lee

Glad to be finally getting my fourth Covid jab this week. Gig season is back upon us and I'm hoping to see as many of my friends as possible between now and Christmas... safely!

My Practical Brain: "Why don't you pull out a pile of records to play this weekend while you do the huge deep clean, prep for decorating and tackle some life admin?"

My Passionate Brain: "OK. Will this be enough?" 😁

Spent last night in the company of the brilliant GEN AND TH£ DEGENERATES at The Ruby Lounge, Manchester.

First saw them supporting Skunk Anansie earlier this year and just had to see them again.

There's always time for binge watching my favourites later. I think I've watched about 150 episodes of classic Doctor Who this year alone.

But new stuff, especially long form narratives just work better when you have characters in your 'life' for longer, I find.

I eeked out The Outlaws recently, only finishing Series 2 tonight, and now I adore the whole gang in a way I might not have done if I'd ploughed through each series.

Take your time, folks. It really does reap rewards.

While both series have their flaws, I'm actually really enjoying watching both 'House of the Dragon' and 'The Rings of Power' on a once-a-week level. They're sitting in my mind more than those shows you rush through because it's all there to gorge yourself silly watching.

Where possible, I like to avoid spoilers and eek things out... I managed to go through 'The Sandman' over the course of two weeks, but would have liked more time with each episode to consider the possibilities.

The BBC have dropped the entire fourth series of GHOSTS onto iPlayer, Netflix style.

Personally, I'll be watching one episode at a time, and spacing them out - maybe not one a week, but definitely letting each episode sit with me for a while, ruminating in my brain before moving on.

Earlier this year, The Boys Season 3 opened with a 3 episode drop, then weekly instalments, and the frantic rush to see the first three didn't do it any favours. I went back to them later to appreciate them more.

I've been likened to loads of cartoon/puppet animals over the years.

But I think the most accurate representation of my personality is the random episode of mostly forgotten Channel 5 kids show Beachcomber Bay I saw once, in which Salty Dog was told he was too fat and had to diet, but he spent the whole episode longing for sausages. via barely concealed innuendo, until he eventually got what he truly desired most.

When you realise Richard Griffiths celebrated his 39th birthday just a few days before filming began on Withnail And I... and you're 38 in a few weeks... #elderqueernow

As it began...

Accidentally spent over two months away from this place. So much has happened in that time I wouldn't know where to begin. But still hopeful maybe this place can eventually replace the evil bird... if more people join anyway!

Let's go dig up Maggie's grave and ask her where that milk went
Down to storm those Downing doors, run inside and **** them
Eat the rich, eat the rich before they turn and eat your children
England's ending, death's still pending, burn those fucking buildings

https://youtu.be/brXYgTJCk48

Ps. Stupid phone added an apostrophe to an its. Believe me I'm more annoyed than you are. 😁

As much as possible, I avoid binge viewing. Oh, I'll do it for my old favourites. I'm quite happy to watch a full series in one go if I've already seen it. But new stuff? Christ, folks, let it sit with you a while. There's plenty of other things to occupy your time, and I can't think of a single show that doesn't benefit from a breather.

But most people won't do that, because Disney+ gives them the choice to click next episode before the last one has even finished, it's credits highlighting the talented people who made the show shrunk down to a little box to dismiss what you've just seen. Quick now, move on to the next episode. That one is done with.

To quote the song it took its title from... "Fuck this, and fuck that."

Television isn't always disposable guff. It should be allowed to ruminate with you. No spoilers here, but Episode Six of The Boys third season is still rattling around my head from Friday, and will be making me think for days yet before the next episode arrives, and the third episode of Pistol, focusing on Pauline from Birmingham outright fucking DEMANDS you think about its sensitive subject matter before watching the next episode.

We had to devote 3+ hours to The Boys on S3 launch day because the first three episodes dropped at once, and we know the Internet can't keep quiet about their contents, but at least every successive episode is one a week.

Whereas Loz just binged through the long awaited S3 of Umbrella Academy on Thur-Sat this week otherwise the whole thing would be ruined. What to do now, but wait for S4 which hasn't even (publicly announced to have been) commissioned yet so is likely at least 18 months away.

If there's one thing I would change about the streaming era, it's this habit of dropping entire seasons of television in one go.

Now, obviously nobody makes you watch it all at once. We've been watching PISTOL at a rate of roughly one episode a week and that has really worked for us.

But if you want to avoid spoilers for the big guns you just HAVE to watch it all right away, as quickly as possible.

SPACEBALLS: THE ANNIVERSARY! Apparently today is the 35th anniversary of Spaceballs. As this photo from 2018 implies, I'm rather fond of the silly ol' thing. Would love to go back to then but we missed it just now.