Okie dokie. I am hereby DONE with The Tudors. Understand, it has nothing to do with the quality of the show. In fact, Fondy and I enjoyed the first season immensely. And we WERE enjoying the second season – until the second disc in our DVD box set started skipping, jumping, pausing and, eventually, freezing up. Assuming it was a problem with my machine, I brought it upstairs and we settled down to watch it on the plasma. Alas, more skipping, jumping, pausing, and freezing. Clearly, the disc was defective. Alas, it had been months since I’d purchased it. I had no receipt nor any recollection of where I’d picked it up. Ah, the hell with it. I headed down to HMV and bought another box set. So, the following day, we settled down in the theater room and started watching. A couple of minutes in, the scene skipped. Then jumped. Then, paused. Aw, bloody hell! I brought it upstairs and tested it on my second DVD player. Sure enough, the same problem.
Well, this time I had a receipt. I went back to HMV and informed them of my issues. “Maybe it’s your DVD player,”offered one helpful employee. No, I told her, that wasn’t the case as I’d tested the disc on two DVD players in addition to my laptop. Well, she assured me that this was the first she’d heard of any complaints regarding The Tudors second season box set. It was, no doubt, an isolated incident. An isolated incident, I couldn’t help but point out, that happened twice. With the exact same disc on the exact same box set. To me. In any case, I picked out my replacement box set and headed home. Again, Fondy and I settled in to pick up where we’d left off. And, once again – skip, jump, pause, and freeze.
When I returned to HMV the following day, I was dealing with another employee who informed me “This is the first time I’ve heard of anyone having a problem with this box set.” Really? I can only assume: a) the last employee I spoke to was guarding our previous conversation like a closely guarded secret and b) I had defied all odds and picked up three successive Tudors season two box sets with defective disc #2’s! He pulled the disc and held it up to the light, showed me what looked like a faint watermark on the disc. Obviously, a problem in the manufacturing process. I was free to pick out a replacement. I did but, before I left and just for laughs, I opened the packaging, plucked out disc #2, and held it up to the light. Sure enough, there was the same faint watermark. Hell, I should be playing the lottery! The employee suggested I give it a try anyway because some DVD players will react differently. If I experience yet another problem, I can bring it back for a refund.
So I returned home and, this time, I didn’t even bother settling in. I popped the disc into my machine and hit “play”. With predictable results. Skip, jump, pause, freeze.
Tomorrow, I head back to HMV to get my money back and say goodbye to The Tudors. Alas, even if I wasn’t left embittered by the whole experience, Fondy has lost interest in the series and wants to move on. Season 3 of Lost, here we come.
Today’s blog entry is dedicated to our friends in Australia.
Mailbag:
Ytimyona writes: “You have pictures and video from the Destiny set, but can’t show us?”
Answer: Plenty of pics of the in-progress set construction – Destiny and shuttle. Alas, MGM has asked me to keep things under wraps for now.
Tim Gaffney writes: “Also, Joe, didn’t you say if we asked you that you would give us some of the colored page info on the proposed episode for the sixth season we are not getting(can’t remember the name) where our intrepid heroes use the time traveling jumper.”
Answer: Thanks for reminding me. I’ll post as part of tomorrow’s entry.
Snakey writes: “So will we get to see or read your short story sometime in the near future?”
Answer: Probably not until 2010.
Paloosa writes: “I’ve been wondering if you have always had a longing to write a short story? How many words or pages does a short story usually run? What do you find more or less difficult in writing it as opposed to a script? Are you on a deadline?”
Answer: I’ve always wanted to write a novel. A short story is the next best thing. As for how long a short story is – that depends. I was given a guideline of 4 000 – 7 000 words and a deadline of June 2009. As for the most difficult part about writing a short story: everything.
Jon K. writes: “Hey Joe, can we get a hint on any of the women cast members? Will any of them be familiar to someone like myself who watches almost every show on tv?”
Answer: Probably.
AMZ writes: “Oh, are you serious about adding a Graphic Novel category to the BOTM club?!”
Answer: Very. I had a preliminary discussion with an author and, hopefully, if the timing works out, he’ll be dropping by for a Q&A to discuss his work in April.
Luis writes: “I dont know if anyone has asked but have you watched Sanctuary???”
Answer: Haven’t seen it.
Jo writes: “I saw ‘the Eyre Affair’ by Jasper Fforde in Baron Destructo’s book montage. I still haven’t met a single other live person that is not one of my siblings that has read it… so seeing it on your list, I’m curious. What did you think of the book?”
Answer: I liked it a lot. I’d recommend you pick up The Big Over Easy.
Arctic Goddess writes: “Did you get the lavender?”
Answer: Yes, thanks. Fondy’s putting it to get use.
Caitlyanna writes: “I just noticed (both on here and on Goodreads) that you’re reading Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler. I just finished Fledgling by her and it was great except for the fact that the ending felt a little rushed. I still have told people in the last few weeks that if they like vampires mixed with a little sci fi and a murder mystery it’s a great story. I love her style of writing. It only took about 50 pages to get into. Have you read anything else by her or is this the first?”
Answer: I’ve read The Parable of the Talents and The Parable of the Sower, both great books.
Tina writes: “Stupid question but is it still ok to send stuff to Bridge Studios?”
Answer: Yep.
Hi, Joe
So SGU will start shooting in this week right?
If I recall correctly, it’s February 11th right?
We do get to see the pix eventually though, right? Good enough for me. I can wait…if a bit impatiently 😉
I read the Gateworld interview with Brian J Smith and he seems awesome. I can’t wait to see him and the other guys (and girls! who we get to meet soon, I hope!) in action!
Sounds like SGU isn’t premiering until October, after I get back to the land of schoolwork and (more importantly) cable TV, so I can actually watch the premiere! Yay!
Ooof. Too bad about The Tudors. Hope you like season 3 of LOST. I personally thought season 4 was the best. (Not including this season, which has thus far exceeded my expectations.)
Hey Joe,
Hope all is well. Have a lot to catch up on.
Just wanted to say I enjoyed Inherit The Stars. I think you recommended it.
Read the four Thursday Next books and will be starting The Big Over Easy soon.
Gotta go.
Seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeya.
PS: Here’s a snake from Aus that’s not extinct.
Having dropped HBO some time back, I’ve yet to spring for the boxed sets of the Tudors. Given your adventures, I think I’ll wait even longer. It’s not as if I lack things to watch, read, listen to, or gods forbid, actually do. The graphic novel idea is interesting. Fortunately, I’ve a comic store in-town so I won’t have to make a special run for them. And thank you for the day’s dedication. My heart goes out to all those who are suffering or are endangered.
Oooooh, I hate when that happens Heart’s “Dog & Butterfly” album did that do me. (Music album. I’m dating myself.) 5 times. I can’t ever listen to them any more without my blood pressure going up.
2010. Wasn’t that a movie? It used to seem so far away…..
Joe,
About how big are the stages? I have no point of reference, but they must be pretty large to have held, the SGC, Atlantis, and no the Destiny.
Hey joe
Guess I posted my question too late.
Anaways
1. Is the super secret project the Atlantis movie
2. So how is life in Canada going for you
Joe, my nose is peeling and it’s your fault. I had a few hours to kill on Sunday, so I found a nice spot on a pedestrian street in the center of Wellington and settled in to read my copy of Infoquake. The sun moved, the shadows shifted and being too absorbed in the book, I sizzled.
I’m stuck with tan lines from my strappy slave sandals, a burnt forehead and a bright red nose. I’ll drop it for now since I managed to rehydrate before getting a migraine, but your blog should come with a health warning. Srsly.
Forgot to say thanks for the blog dedication to all of us Joe.
The North is flooded, we’re burning.
Where did happy-medium go?
Do you know, I had the exact same problem with North by Northwest. It had something to do with the second layer of the disc (since it happened at the layer change), and it just happened to affect every last DVD play and computer I owned. I was never able to find a fix, information on whether the disc was going to be reissued in a more consistently playable edition, or if the problem was ever acknowledged by anyone in a position of responsibility at all.
Eventually, I got an old VHS copy from the library so I could see how it ended.
@Major Davis
The other day when Joe said
“Today, I shifted gears to focus on my super, secret project (Okay, yeah, it’s a short story), ”
that’s exactly what he meant. The project IS a short story. He’s mentioned it in earlier posts. Perhaps you missed the references.
@ Major Davis: His super-secret project is the short story he’s writing…if you look at yesterday’s entry (or maybe the day before) it’s pretty much the first thing he says 🙂
Hey Joe.
Wow, I would have given up after the second failed attempt. Just curious, have you ever seen the Canadian Drama series “The Border”? It’s pretty good!
Thanks Joe!
@ Narelle from Aus
Check this out:
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2009/02/05/sea-level-rise.html?ref=rss
You’ll probaby have to C&P the ling though.
Hi Joe,
Pretty bad luck with the Tudors, I had the same problem with S4 of SG-1 to the point of almost giving up… I returned it 3 times until I finally decided to get it from another supplier and magic! it worked.
I know you used to be hooked on Lost it’s been great so far, but be aware that even the producers say that S3 is the worst season ever!!! so except for the last episode don’t expect much and consider it more as a research that you would hate to do to a great S4 and so far amazing S5.
Enjoy!
Carolina
PS: Is it me or did you ever say that Chef Rob competed in Iron Chef, if so, do you know when is it going to air?
You should pick up a box set of Supernatural. 🙂 It will really draw you in if you like science fiction mixed with horror. It’s beautifully done.
I’ve lost my enthusiasm for Lost. Seriously. All they do is run around in circles in the jungle. I think even one of the actors said that Lost has turned boring and they were bored constantly running around in the jungle doing what feels like the same scene over and over.
I loved the first two seasons, I just lost interest after that. At first it’s really cool that they just keep adding to the air of mystery by throwing up more and more puzzles and questions. The search to answer one question, opens up another, and so on. Now, there are so many questions that I feel overwhelmed, confused, and sick of not getting any resolutions.
I’m probably the only one who feels that way about Lost. The only comparison I can think of would be Dr. Keller getting kidnapped in the BC forest every single episode. It loses interest very fast. heh.
Anyway, I fully stand by my recommendation for Supernatural S1. You won’t be disappointed, I even got my mom totally hooked on it. 🙂
And please everyone, pray for rain in Victoria, Australia. We need it desperately. This past weekend was the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced from crimson skies to total darkness (from smoke) in the afternoon to black ash rain that night. We still have two very large fires burning near us, one is threatening the power station and coal mines.
I had a problem with most of the last disc of season 7 of SG-1. Almost all the episodes were either completely frakked or choppy at beginning or end.
“Innaguration” remained intact.
“The Tutors” is a good delving into history, since most images of Henry VIII that come to mind are the older, fatter, and bearded. It does start to take a Michael Corleone post-Cuba turn around where you said you had your foul-up. Hard to watch if you let yourself think about who gets iced.
Well, that’s unfortunate. Did you try simply looking online to see if you could download that ep? Amazon or iTunes may have it, and that way you wouldn’t have to pay the $80 or whatever it is for a new boxed set. If they had it, which they may not. Worth a look, though.
I have the bad habit of buying DVD sets and not watching them for years. I do that with movies, too. I once bought a VHS of Amistad, didn’t watch it for a few years, then when I finally put it in, the tape was completely blank. It rather baffled me. I also bought a boxed set of the first season of Highlander only to discover that it had two copies of disc 4 and no disc 5. Fortunately, that happened soon after I bought it so I was able to take it back.
Re Lost, I actually enjoyed Season 3 in a strange sort of way. Season 4 was excellent, and I’m watching Season 5 on Hulu because thanks to SciFi and their schedule changes, I’d missed a few episodes and was, well, lost. I was actually enjoying watching 4 hours on SciFi every Monday night, then they changed the schedule without an announcement. Joe, I can’t begin to tell you how boring tv is without some new Stargate. I’ve re-watched all of SG-1, all of Atlantis, the Ark of Truth, Continuum, and now what? Hurry, please, I’m seriously considering pulling out all my Star Treks (yeah, ALL of them) and going batsh–.
@Alexandria – Hang in there! We went through terrible fires in Florida a while back and it was really scary. Stay safe!
@Sessy- hope you’re on the mend, you’re in our thoughts 🙂
Hey Joe,
I’ve been rowing my way through the SG-1 complete seasons boxset (just starting season 3). I pop in a disc, turn up the volume, and row on our new rowing machine for half an hour, then cool down while watching the end of the episode. I must say it’s great for motivation. Last night I had problems with the last disc of season 2 though – but I tried it on our blu ray player and it played fine. The disc seems to have a few minor scratches on it – I think sometimes some players have difficulty with some discs that other players can overcome – but your experience with the Tudors disc does sound like a manufacturing defect. Hope you get your refund.
As an aside, will you take pity (on those of us who are still interested) and reveal the answers to the SGA season 4/5 poem that you posted waaaaay back in December 2007? You know, before you forget what you were thinking??
🙂
Jean
I watched “The Ark of Truth” the other day and I started wondering……if someone went through the trouble of designing a whole new Alteran ship and modeling it, how come we saw so little of it and from angles or distances that barely showed it at all?
I know it’s a long time past, but it was something that caught my attention….
Hey Joe, hope all is well up there.
Silly question(probably) do you read any other genres than the Horror, Sci Fi, and Fantasy?
Joe,
I was watching the second installment of “An Evening with Kevin Smith” and there was a special feature where Kevin takes to the streets of Toronto asking the question “What is *the* signature Canadian cuisine. What dish or style of food defines Canada’s contribution to the food world, essentially. The folks in Toronto mostly seemed to hang their hat on Poutine.
So, I put the same question to Vancouver. What is the signature Canadian dish?
PS. Mr. Smith also couldn’t stop raving about Tim Horton’s. He said there are 5 Tim Hortons’ for every 1 Canadian citizen. Are they in Vancouver as well? How many can you hit with a stone from Bridge studios?
The same thing happened to me when I bought the eighth season of Sg1. But the third time I returned it they gave me my money back.
Ok, now I’m even more excited about reading the BOTM Club book selections come April, thanks for introducing another category Joe, esp. one I’m less familiar with but would really like to get into.
Judging from your dedication to people in Australia, I am guessing you’re referring to the fires and heatwaves? I hope you don’t have any family or friends that have been badly affected over here.
Amz
@Mr M
About your problem with the Tudors season 2 DVD disk 2. You might try using your DVD player to skip the about 5 seconds period that locking up on you.
Note the elapsed time that the DVD disk freezes up.
Pop out and close the disk tray on the DVD player.
Pause the player after selecting the title and chapter where the problem occur
use the search function to resume play about 5 to 10 seconds after the time stamp where you encounter the problem.
Have encounter this problem on several DVD disks that I acquired over the years. It’s a manufacturing fault that occurs occasionally affecting random batches of a particular product. I think it’s sloppy authoring of the DVDs. Try out my fix, I find if you can skipped past the bad section on the DVD. You should be able to watch the rest of the disk. Good luck.
.
Sad to hear the hardships our listees and people in Oz are encountering now. Stay safe everyone down there.
Okay you got me, Joe Abercrombie has a full head of hair. But now I wonder if the prerequisite for being a writer is having been hooked on RPG’s. Hmm.
Joe, What’s MGM’s general opinon of your blog? Do they not really care? Scared something my get leaked/opined that shouldn’t be? Think it’s a good way to prevent you from becoming a mass murder by stress release? (Hmm, that looks to be the one from today’s message… :p )
Your short story assignment sounds almost agonizing. But I really can’t wait to read it, and I hope it’s a step towards one day writing your novel.
And my deepest sympathy to Aussies experiencing the horrible fires. We get the same conditions fueling our California wildfires every year, but I can’t fathom the accounts of destruction and death I’ve been reading about in Australia. Please be safe.
My M*A*S*H does that, but because I have the entire 11 seasons in one box set and got it for my birthday, I just suck it up, and repeatedly take the disk out and putting it in. It works after the third time! I’ve had similar problems with my Slings and Arrows, Robson Arms and Corner Gas, though never much to really annoy me as they, I usually just take it out and rub it down with a cleaner…Maybe its Canadien man’d DVDs! Or the cold. I enjoy blaming the cold up here on everything. You have a stuffy nose, blame the cold. You’re stuck behind an idiot who can’t drive, blame the cold, the spine of Spencer’s Faerie Queene and you need it in one piece for that class you’re taking on it, blame the cold. The DVD doesn’t work, blame the cold. (I can totally pull that off being from PG 😛 )
@Narelle. I think most of the happy mediums have been at the cooking sherry again! Stay safe everyone.
Can you reassure fans that Teyla and Ronan will be used better in the movie then they were in season 5?
If you were working on script that you had gotten into outline form and then it gets shelved would you wait until it got picked up again before continuing to work on it or would you continue it incase the being shelved part was temporary?
I really want to know the answer to this question that’s why I’m posting it again: In Enemy at the Gate was Teyla’s son with her on Atlantis or in the Pegasus Galaxy with his father because I don’t thing she would up and leave her son especially with what she said at the end of The Prodigal (If the answer to this is in the movie can you say the answer will be in the movie or something like that)?
Hi
Don’t know whether or not if this will solve you problem but I bought a disc cleaner not a hand one but a proper repair electric one…as I had watched certain SG1 DVD’s and they were starting to skip…flag what flag?….*coughs*…it is brilliant and restored all of my DVD’s…what I hate are the pauses when it reads the second layer…but you can’t have everything I suppose…LOL
Kriss 🙂
And I thought the (male) employee behaved like ‘women are too dumb for technical things’ as exactly the same thing happened to me with the SG-1 season 9 DVD box (German version).
Luckily, the British version was all right. I only bought the German box because it was an special offer. Usually they are too expensive compared with the British or American ones.
Hi Joe,
Thanks for dedicating todays entry to “us” here in “OZ”
Its the worst natural disaster Australia has had in a long long time. Over 131 dead & people are still missing. Just devastating!
Do you watch other Sci-Fi shows? If so which ones & why?
Have you read any of the Stargate books?
Do you start shooting SGU this week?
Take care & happiness always!
Cathie
Re: BOTM:
Have you ever done a Neil Gaiman book? Or Terry Pratchett?
Random question/comment:
I am fond of reading childrens/young adult novels. They’re quick reads that fit nicely into my schedule, and they have an amazing range of themes and characters and plotlines, something that often gets lost in the realism and minutiae of adult novels. I wonder if you have interest in reading any?
Some recent gems:
Peter and the Starcatchers, by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson – an origin story of Peter Pan. Aside from original characters and a snappy pace, I applaud the authors for making no attempt to water down the sense of danger and violence, merely couching it in terms that the target age audience can handle. First in a trilogy.
Following Fake Man, by Barbara Ware Holmes – a bildingsroman of a fatherless young would-be artist who is plunged into a mystery that is entangled with his mother’s past. The best bits are the illustrated journal pages of his slightly crazy friend.
Princess Academy, by Shannon Hale – Don’t be fooled by the girly title. It’s a fascinatingly believable fantasy world with a twisty plot. The innocuous non-inclusion of ‘magic’ is my favorite part.
Jo and Joe
I too have read the weird and wonderful Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde and am waiting in anticipation for Shades of Grey to come out. I love the fact that the ‘real’ world isn’t our world (Crimean War still going on, Wales is a separate republic where “it’s not always raining” etc) and then you get the added twist of people jumping in and out of novels. Like I said weird and wonderful, but if anyone else is going to dip their big toe into Fforde’s books then start with Eyre Affair as it sets out the rules of Fforde’s world.
Jo, if you like detective novels with a weird twist then investigate the death of Humpty Stuyvesant Van Dumpty III in The Big Over Easy.
Meils
(Aberdeen – not always raining but it feels like it)
It clearly sounds as though there is a mastering error somewhere in the works. Get in touch with HBO or the disk duplicators and ask them to take a look into it – hopefully they can identify the problem (and acknowledge there IS a problem) and can send you a remastered copy.
It doesn’t help when film and TV studios, in their infinite wisdom and their crusade against piracy, decide to bugger about with the DVD structure to stop people ‘ripping’ the content. Not all DVD players, despite the DVD Forum and a little thing called ‘standards’, are created equal. Computer DVD players, especially so.
I hate it so much when the studios do not trust the consumer. Why should I then trust the studio? Doesn’t make sense to me.
See now I wouldn’t leave it there Joe. I would complain to both the distributor (Peace Arch Entertainment for the shoddy manufacturing) and HMV for the appalling customer service.
Sounds like there needs to be a recall, at least of the HMV batch.
I’m curious though about your Theatre Room. Is it very geeky?
By now, everyone’s probably seen the Star Wars entertainment room. I think someone posted the link here a while ago. Well here are some more:
13 geekiest home entertainment centers – I’d love the Lightsaber remote and the screen at the side of the house is impressive – your own drive-in.
The Temple of Boom – an Indiana Jones inspired theme of course. Coolies!
Theatre modelled after George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch Theatre, The Stag.
Enjoy!
Cheers, Chev
hey joe, wanted to ask you something that might seem stupid, are their gonna be any ground vehicles or tanks in SGU?
I like jumpers and all but wont it be cool if lets say the enemy had tanks with upward firing canons or armored troop carriers going through the stargate. its a bit low tech compared to jumpers but would be nice to see.
while we are on the subject, can you make Destiny’s A.I be “Christian Bale” crazy? just imagine:
A.I: Am I going to walk around and rip your ***** air supply down, in the middle of a mission? Then why the **** are you walking right through? Ah-da-da-dah, like this in the background. What the **** is it with you? What don’t you ****** understand?
WALLACE: I was looking at the subsystem power supply.
A.I: Ohhhhh, goooood for you. And how was it? I hope it was ***** good, because it’s useless now, isn’t it?
WALLACE: OK
A.I: ***** sake man, you’re amateur. NICHOLAS RUSH, you got ****** something to say to this prick?
NICHOLAS RUSH: I didn’t see it happen.
A.I: Well, somebody should be ******* watching and keeping an eye on him.
NICHOLAS RUSH: Fair enough.
A.I: You do it one more ****** time and I ain’t running this ship if you’re still here. I’m ******* serious. You’re a nice guy. You’re a nice guy, but that don’t ****** cut it when you’re ****** around like this on ship.
thanks for the kind thoughts ^^
The death toll is curently 200. I just cant believe it, towns are just gone, and people are stuck and its just horrible.
P.s I had to replace my 1st box set of stargate atlantis 4 times!! Lol I swear the chick thought I was insane when I rocked up to replace the set the last time 0.o
Hey there Mr M!
RE: The whole DVD issue: Couldn’t agree more!! The Tudors (as you are probably aware) is shot here in Ireland. (Some 2 hours from where I type). In general, the whole DVD issue that mentioned in the Blu-Ray discussion as well, has me vexed.
An example: Reionality of DVDs.
There was an excellent series about 2 years back with Taye Diggs, “DayBreak”. Wow! But it’s only available in Region 1!! Featuring our re-doubtable Col Caldwell, (boy can that guy swagger!!) A fantastic series! But, it meant either watching the series on Lap top or pitching for a multi-region DVD player. Now, I know that you can use a combination of buttons on various remote controls that will “jimmy” your player to play a multi-region DVD, but being lazy and strapped for time, my dilemma was solved when I was gifted a multi-region DVD player. However, even with this, there were interminable freezes. Since I bought the box set in Vancouver, (though I would love to personally return it) I couldn’t go back to the store. Any-hoo, the freezing seemed to dissapate in the later discs, but it did frustrate any coherent watching of the series! *rant over*
On a related note, it’s funny when different spheres of life collide. My brother is a total politico. As I mentioned before, he helped with VP Biden’s Campaign in the primaries. He did NOT inherit the Sci-Fi gene. When I mention any Sci Fi related discussion, his eyes glaze over.
Imagine my surprise, when I get a text this morning :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp6xUuMh5rA
asking me what a Wraith is?
Curious, I watched the video (FANTASTIC by the way)
only to discover that a regular here : Grapesofwraith is the author!!!! leaving my brother with new found respect for the Sci Fi community!!
Best to all
S’n’T
I’m just now getting around to catching up on your blog after a few days of actual social life that kept me off the computer. ::shock::
A few comments:
1. Thanks for the restaurant list. We are beginning to work with the Canadian public health gang on Olympic prep (although they’ve been at it a while), so there has been much discussion about where to eat when/if we get to go up for a visit.
2. As for the wife-swapping shows? I know someone who did Trading Spouses. She thought it would be an adventure, and it was. What she didn’t realize was the level to which the show would edit things to leave it on an even worse note than she experienced. For example, the letter at the end when each wife chooses something for the other family? They completely rewrote hers to be insulting to her temporary family. She was not happy.
If you really want to finish The Tudors I recommend downloading the rest of the episodes you haven’t seen. Like I said before the quality isn’t quite DVD but at least you can finish the story. That would drive me crazy. You made a heroic effort buying the box set, I don’t have that much patience in the Digital Age.
I’m 3/4 of the way thru the short-lived CBS vamp series MOONLIGHT (which I totally missed, it aired opposite SGA) yet another installment in my plan to see every vampire thing ever made. Its not too bad, pretty good cast, story writing is risky yet somewhat familiar the lead Mick comes off as a cross between Nick Knight and Barnabas Collins, and the actor Alex O. is an Aussie I plan to keep an eye on, reminds me a lot of Flanigan ie smart guy. The only truly unforgivable in the show so far is their alt explanation for the French Revolution.
Down Under, take care
DD
Narelle from Aus
Forgot to say thanks for the blog dedication to all of us Joe.
The North is flooded, we’re burning.
Where did happy-medium go?
Narelle…how close are the fires to you?? The closest we got was 10 minutes away from us but my brother is stuck in Yarra Glen…along with my hubby and sister in law. They have a second fire front bearing down on them as we speak.
Thank you Joe for thinking of us down here. It’s really quite mind boggling. We have a constant wall of smoke out our front door…and as I mentioned already, the closest fire to us was 10 minutes away but that fire is now contained and all but extinguished. Thus far, 130 people have died. I know someone who lives in one of the worst ravished areas but do not know of his fate. I have cousins who are stuck in Healesville tonight which is under direct threat. And as mentioned, my brother is in Yarra Glen and hubby is helping him fight the fires. They have already saved Bob’s house and helped to save 2 other houses on the property.
To see what is happening around us right now is just utterly heart breaking. To see Marysville and other townships wiped out completely…there are no words.
Please take care everyone and stay safe.
OOOOooooo frustrating!!!!
We are now on Season 3 of Lost too!
Enjoy…
S
Bonjour Joseph…sa va ?
Toute cela pour un DVD^^! Et bien, il faut mieux être patient.
Kiss, a demain
Ok, probably a dumb question, put did you try cleaning the disc? Sometimes that works for me. I guess if the same spot is on all of the same discs, then it is embedded and not able to come off (I hate it when that happens).
Im pretty new to the blog so i might have missed somthing
thanks though marsha r
Yeah, SG-1 Season 7 right in the middle of Heroes. ARRRRRGH! And season four … which I had bought used, but they sent me a whole second set. Can you believe hubby found several boxed sets of SG-1 seasons in the dumpster at work? Truckers throw out the darndest things. We took them to FYE and got a ton of store credit as I already had all the seasons at that point.
Sorry I’ve been AWOL, been busy. We now have paint samples for the hall, guest bedroom, basement Living Pit, front upstairs parlor and the exterior doors. I am going for COLOR! I’ve always wanted bright red doors. Plus I have slowly been blogging my trip to Spain, I have three days worth up … although most of my pics are on facebook. Maggiemayday Clayton for those who care. I have one album totally full of Salvadore Dali statues. They are out in the open, in Marbella on the walk from the park to the sea. You can touch them, caress them, get silly with them. I was in heaven!
And today is our 22nd wedding anniversary. Poor hubby went to work at three a.m., but we had friends over last night for lobster ravioli and wii. Good times, good times.
Joe…
I’m surprised you never recorded TUDORS when it was showing on CBC a few months back. Don’t know if they’ll be rerunning it. However, check the CBC French channels – I think they may have it on right now. As for the discs, try COSTCO, they had them and probably cheaper than HMV.
BTW, Anne gets killed at the end! :-}
Joe —
I feel your pain about The Tudors. I went through several SG1 season 7 sets before I found one that worked. Since I didn’t start to watch the show until S9 and was playing catch up, not seeing the second part of Heroes was painful. I did learn to watch ALL DVDs within 30 days of buying them.
You really weren’t missing much at the end of The Tudors. I thought it didn’t know how to deal with the end of Anne. And even with all it’s inaccuracy, it couldn’t get away with ignoring history on that one.
I second (third, whatever) the suggestion that you give Supernatural a try. Good show through the first 3 seasons and the current one is terrific.
Hi Joe —
Have you read Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami? I just finished the English translation and this book really blew me away. It was one of those books that both enthralls and repels and I couldn’t put it down.
Jasper Forrde’s books are great I was caught by the title ‘Lost in a Good Book’ and have now read them all.
I am from Adelaide (Sth Aus) – we were fortunate to not have any bushfires in spite of a record heat wave. Australians are doing what Aussies do best when there is a national disaster, everything they can. The temp has dropped 20 deg C but the fires still burn. They need lots of rain right now to slow it all down.
To everyone affected either directly or indirectly so many people have you in their thoughts and prayers (if that is their way). Take care.
Chelle DeBoer
We’re in Eltham North. Up until the change came it was getting a little hairy. It wasn’t the main one in Kinglake we were worried about but the number of new fires popping up around us as the embers were travelling for km’s. Kangaroo Ground, Hurstbridge and Diamond Creek especially. The road about 5kms down the road got closed for the fires but that was as close as it got.
When you see Elvis flying overhead it’s both comforting and a little frightening. Our neighbours fence ignited with no warning and made us realise how easy something could start.
Now that the wind is in the reverse direction we seem to be out of harm’s way.
I hope those you know in Healesville are ok.
My Hubby’s work is downing tools this week to go and help an employee who lost it all at Kinglake. That is, when they can get through to get back to the place.
It’s odd now it being so cold but the fires still going.
Our land needs the fire. It’s always had fire. Unfortunately we are now all in the way.
Now if we could just get some rain.
Anyone got the moves for a good rain dance? Nothing too jazzy. Just around 30mm to start with would be nice.
I gave the electronic’s people the heads up about “The Tuders” season 2 problem. So they will know what is wrong if someone brings it in!!!
That’s at Wal*Mart where I work!!!
Watermarks are bastards.
And not always made by water.
Check.