NOW TV on trial

In light of my Virgin Media bill going up this month, I decided to reduce my TV package from XL to L. I wrote about the possibility of me taking this action awhile back, and I've got over enough of my misgivings since then.

My bill for XL TV, 70MB broadband, and free weekend phone calls... inflated to £71.98. By switching to the L TV package, 50MB broadband, and free weekend calls... it was reduced to £57.99—which is a saving of £13.99. Using that money I've clawed back, I subscribed to a £6.99 'Entertainment Pass' with Sky's NOW TV service.

FRAME RATED: NOW LIVE

My new site, FRAME RATED, is now
live at www.framerated.co.uk!

Like DMD, FR will cover television and film reviews and features, but in more detail and with less emphasis on episodic coverage of TV shows. (Only a select few will get that weekly recap treatment.) More notably, this is a team-written site coming from a group of talented freelancers donating their valuable time and energies. I will be the Editor in Chief, but also a prominent author of articles myself.

Intermission: summer break

I'm away from 29 August - 6 June, so regular updates will be less guaranteed. I will be covering the Outlander finale, but it may be a few days later than usual. I will also be reviewing the return of Hannibal, but it won't be as immediate as I'd usually aim for. Unfortunately, my Angel/Buffy catchups will have to take another week's break, too. My new site, FRAME RATED, will also be launching a few days after I'm back, so my focus will inevitably shift to that for awhile. I do hope you've all bookmarked www.framerated.co.uk already!

Coming Soon: FRAME RATED

It's time to share some news that has been developing for the past few months, with the readers of this 'ere blog. I'm creating and editing a new site, called FRAME RATED. Full details below:

What is FRAME RATED?

This is a new Wordpress site I've created, also focusing on TV/film reviews and features. You can visit and bookmark www.framerated.co.uk, although it isn't live yet.

I've started my Netflix trial...

Believe it or not, I've only just become a Netflix subscriber this weekend. Although, technically, I'm just on a one month free trial—having been encouraged to give it a go with the release of Daredevil's complete first season on 10 April. And here are my first impressions and thoughts:

Intermission: Easter break

I'm away from 3-11 April, so regular updates will be less guaranteed. This comes at a time when TV shows I plan to cover weekly are airing (Outlander, Inside No.9, Mad Men), but I'll try and find some time to write about those. Angel/Buffy catchups will continue as usual, and I'll make time for the Better Call Saul finale. I will be back in time for the return of Game of Thrones and the debut of Daredevil, but not sure if I'll be reviewing those beyond their premieres.

Dan's Media Digest turns 9 today

Wow. 9 years ago today I started this blog.

I don't want to make too much of a fuss this year, because something tells me DMD's 10th anniversary in 2016 will be a more appropriate time for BIG celebration, but thank you to everyone who's ever visited and continues to keep checking back.

Oh, but especially if you're kind enough to leave comments, or disseminate posts you enjoyed through Twitter, Facebook, etc. You seriously can't underestimate the value of engaging with this blog on social media (which helps promote it to new readers), and DMD certainly wouldn't be around today without my knowing there are folks out there who enjoy it.

A special shout-out to Laura Schumacher, Bob, 'Moretears' and Kevin Bachelder, who can usually be relied on to instigate some discussion here... or cheer me up when my enthusiasm dips.

Thank you for reading, one and all.

State of the Blog: peaks and troughs

I know. Output's still much lower than it's ever been. Blame me. Um, who else CAN you blame? Owing to a batch of autumn/winter TV shows that either weren't good, or interesting to review weekly, I found myself scaling back the blogging at DMD. And that became oddly enjoyable, because it enabled more time for real-world pursuits. The daily itch to blog gradually became a weekly itch, and then I began to rethink my whole approach to DMD—in terms of providing a good TV/film blog for readers to visit, which balances the changing needs and desires of myself as its sole author.

Intermission: late-autumn break

It's time for me to take another week off, so blogging will once again be at a premium until 9 November. Don't expect reviews of The Walking Dead or The Flash right away, and I've decided to stop writing about Gotham and Homeland just lately. If you want to ask me a question, suggest a feature, request a review, or just comment about anything TV/film related, please leave a comment.

HOMELAND; that's all folks!

While I'm likely to review a noteworthy episode, and will probably write about the fourth season in general once the finale airs, my weekly reviews of HOMELAND are done. This isn't a strict reflection of Homeland's quality just now (I'm quite enjoying it), just the fact older shows lose that indefinable quality that makes one eager to write about them. And I don't want to sit down and force myself to write hundreds of words about TV episodes I don't feel passionate about.

MacBook Pro: A Bite of the Apple

I've been using Windows PCs since 1996, beginning with a 'beige-box' 386 running Windows 95. I was mostly self-taught, but went to college during a period when dial-up Internet was taking off and Win95/98 were the operating systems of choice. I've only ever owned computers running the Windows OS, but now I've bought myself a fancy 15" MacBook Pro.

Intermission: Bank Holiday weekend

It's time for me to take a short break again, so I'll be back on Bank Holiday Monday (May 26). This means tomorrow's finale review of Hannibal season 2 will have to wait awhile (sorry!), but otherwise you probably won't notice.

Yes, I have planned ahead! Tomorrow there's a post-mortem of the From Dusk till Dawn TV series (plus a viral video), for Sunday I've written a feature about UK comedy panel shows, and Monday morning's TV Picks will be unaffected.

In the meantime, if you have any interest in the career of director Steven Spielberg, I recommend you download this fantastic e-book I have contributed a review to. It's also a great way to support my writing through commission, of course!

DMD contributed to 'The Take2 Guide to Steven Spielberg' – so readers get 20% off this excellent e-book!

Independent e-publisher Take2 are releasing an assortment of e-book guides to various filmmakers, movies, and TV shows over the coming months. I'm one of the many collaborators on this project, so recommend you download their inaugural release—an exhaustive guide to the filmography of Steven Spielberg.

In this publication, my old review of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was included amongst many others from established critics and bloggers—such as Matt Zoller Seitz, Joseph McBride, Jonathan Rosenbaum and James Berardinelli.

Like most e-books, the price is very reasonable ($9.99/£6.16), but DMD readers can get 20% off by inputting the discount code "dmd2020" at Step 2 of the purchasing process. The e-book is also available through most online retailers.

Intermission: 12-14 April

Sorry, I'm on a weekend break, so reviews of Community and Hannibal will again be delayed. Next week's TV Picks may also go up Monday afternoon instead. I'm sure you'll all survive without me...

Intermission: 17-23 March

It's time for another short break!

As long-term readers will know, this means less daily blogging (between 17 and 23 March), although I won't rule out finding time and the inclination to review something, or post a bit of cool news. The only certainties is that a new TV Picks will published Monday morning, and Thursday will see another brace of Buffy the Vampire Slayer catchups.

The two regular reviews planned for this period (Community, Hannibal) will possibly have to wait for a following week double-bill, and potential pilot reviews for NBC's Crisis and The CW's The 100 probably won't happen.

The long weekend

That was an unscheduled long weekend break, but I'm back later today and the catchup begins. So please have patience as blogging gets back to normal over the next few days.

Time for a well-deserved summer break

It's been very hot this July, so I'm taking advantage and having a well-deserved break. A genuinely good summer doesn't happen often in the UK, and I need something to replace my disastrous non-trip to Spain a few months ago!

As always, I'm not sure how much blogging I'll be able to do while I'm "away" (i.e. still in the UK, but doing other things). I'd usually provide videos from the San Diego Comic-Con that's currently happening, but may not have time to now. I'll try and catch-up with all the television I've missed when I get back on 29 July, of course.

My weekly Angel/Buffy reviews will go ahead as usual this Thursday (but I'll probably take a fortnight's break from those when I get back), as will Monday's regular TV Picks. In the meantime, I hope some of you take this opportunity to peruse DMD's extensive archive of film and TV reviews. If that doesn't appeak, please follow me on Twitter. Or how about following me on Letterboxd if you like short-form film reviews? There's a chance I'll catch Pacific Rim, The Wolverine and The World's End while I'm away, after all. Or one of those.

I hope you enjoy your week! Feel free to use this post as a place for any questions or off-topic discussions, as I really don't mind maintaining a commenting presence while I'm away.

Is it time to take a Tumbl?

I've been blogging for seven years using Blogger. I chose it because it was the most common blogging software available back in 2006, and remains very popular to this day. It's certainly improved over time and I have no major complaints about what it's capable of doing, or how it's helped me bring Dan's Media Digest to you.

However, I've been impressed and intrigued by the rise of Tumblr over the past few years and, last week, began experimenting with a version of this blog using some of Tumblr's most popular (free) templates. And I have to say, it has features and a usability that Blogger seems to lack. Or maybe I'm just bored with Blogger and Tumblr's the greener-looking grass over the bridge?

BARB: UK ratings body to officially measure mobile viewership

BARB, the UK's official ratings body, recently announced they're going to start measuring the use of online catch-up services from August 2013. This information will be used in official reports concerning how many people watch any given TV show via computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone.

We're not at the stage where online viewership is automatically included in the "overnights" (BARB's ratings for the previous day's TV shows, which often get inflated when you factor in the week's catch-up views and repeat showings), but we're close. It's surely only a matter of time before the UK gets comprehensive information about the viewing habits of its entire population, and perhaps many "low rated" TV shows will see a significant bounce when those watching on mobile devices are included.

Do you think that will ever happen? Do you actually watch shows on devices other than a television, routinely? Or are traditional overnight figures going to remain largely unchanged?

Of course, the big change we're long overdue is a system where BARB calculate viewership without merely taking a sampling of 5,100 homes (11,500 participants) and using their data to extrapolate what 58 million people are (most likely) watching. But then you start wandering into Orwellian territory, if you're not a willing participant and your television is telling an outside agency what you're watching. And even if there was some kind of opt-in scheme for 'anonymous automated feedback', chances are only a certain type of individual would participate... and that would skew results more than the current system. Yeah, it's a tricky one...

I'm back! (Not from Spain)

I'm back in the UK. Unfortunately, I never left. If you follow my Twitter you'll know all this in greater detail, but I accidentally put my passport through the wash three days before my flight. After taking lots of advice from various people and Googling for similar travel tales, I decided to risk going to the airport to fly to Spain in the early hours of last Friday. I didn't get very far, thanks to the helpful but strict people of Thomas Cook.

So, I've spent the past five days of my "holiday" here in the UK visiting some family. It's been a week of needless expense, stress, and ultimate disappointment, but I have the rest of the week in unusually clement British weather (19c where I live today) to get over it. It also means I can begin a catch-up of the TV shows I missed, which in blogging terms means Hannibal and Mad Men. I'm always in two-minds about how to do these, but will most likely approach them with the intention of being 'brief', only to watch the word-count grow to 900-1000 words. That's usually what happens! I also managed to watch all of Arrested Development, so some form of review will be along this week--although, again, I'm more than aware the internet went Bluth bananas at the end of May and you're all probably sick of it now.

Anyway, that's my vague plan. Not sure when DMD will be back to 'normal service', but I'm definitely here and able to post stuff. Anyone interested in Community and Doctor Who thoughts, regarding the news last week? Or are we all fed up reading about that now, too?