Unconsumed Media Project #3: Community (Season 1)

Another Christmas present that I was more than happy to receive. This is one of those things that I'd read about on the internet but had never actually seen - I think it was only shown on the Viva channel here in the UK, and I didn't even know that channel existed.

I don't really get why it isn't much more popular. The set-up is fairly 'classic American sit-com' - a bunch of oddballs with a 'will they won't they' handsome couple at the centre. I can easily imagine E4 repeating it infinitely, but for whatever reason it's never really found a broader audience.

From the description above I've made it sound a bit rubbish, but it is actually genuinely great. Beyond the basic set-up there's enough self-referencing and continued jokes to make it a cousin of Arrested Development. It also features Chevy Chase in his best role since The Three Amigos/the video for 'Call Me Al'.

Annoyingly, there doesn't seem to be any immediate plans to release season 2 on DVD. And 'they' wonder why people illegally download...

Unconsumed Media Project #2 - Taken

Technically this isn't my DVD, but it was sat on the shelf all unwatched so I'm including it. My friend bought it for my girlfriend as a birthday present. I'm not really sure why.

The film itself is basically Liam Neeson Kills A Load Of People, and for some reason it's massively popular. I have nothing against action films really but I just found this a bit boring. It's a bit like watching someone else playing a video game. There's no tension to it, and it's all a bit too 'serious' to just give yourself over to the ridiculousness of it all in the way that you can with a film like Crank, for instance.

Unconsumed Media Project #1: 'Snuff' by Terry Pratchett

So in a vague nod towards 'New Year's Resolutions' I set myself the challenge of reading all my unread books and watching all my unwatched DVDs. I'm starting with trying to clear my way through some of the stuff I got for Christmas before I get bogged down with whatever I end up receiving for my birthday.

First up was the latest Discworld book, Snuff. Getting the new Terry Pratchett book is a Christmas tradition that's been going on for years now. I'm not even that 'in' to them any more, but they're nice and readable and still raise a few laughs. I'm sure I'll be a bit sad when Pratchett's illness progresses to a stage where he can no longer write, so I'm glad that the tradition can continue for now.

Generally I'll start reading the new Discworld on Christmas day itself, and my Mam will tell me I'm being anti-social (whilst making me sit through 2 hours of Downton Abbey isn't) but this year I didn't crack on with it until the New Year had fluttered her eyelashes.

So, the book then. I'd say it was fairly typical of the later Discworlds. Amusing and enjoyable, but not much more than that really. The more established characters seem to have run out of a bit of steam unfortunately, and the plot felt like a bit of a re-tread of others in the series. Still, let's hope that the Discworld continues for as long as possible