Gerard McGarry's blog

For the fifth episode of Being Human, the series travels back to 1969 London in order to have a revival of the evil-but-awesome Herrick. This ties into a parallel story for Mitchell (Aidan Turner), which shows him being coerced by Herrick in the past, and blackmailed by Wilson in the present. Spoilers from this point forwards, by the way...

For me, the twin storyline that Mitchell experienced was the best part of this episode. However, the present-day footage was enthralling. Corrupt cop Wilson has Mitchell brought to the station to do him a favour - he wants to have a paedophile prisoner "ripped to shreds" to dispense justice a little more quickly. Mitchell refuses, but Wilson escalates his threats to the vampire community. And when Mitchell orders the paedophile to get himself put in prison - for his own safety - that's not enough for Wilson.

Eventually, Mitchell realises that if he gives in to Wilson, he'll be breaching his own moral code and he'll be indebted to Wilson. In the end, he locks himself into a room and tears open the Police Chief's throat. The special effects department have gotten worryingly good at arterial bleeding this series. Read more »

Owl City have held on to their Number 1 spot, despite a strong midweek position for John and Edward Grimes, which suggested that they might score a #1 with their debut single.

On the plus side, both of Katy Perry's collaborations are in the top ten, and so are both versions of Don't Stop Believin'. Read more »

It's almost over, folks! The excruciating auditions round for the 9th season of American Idol ends tonight. After this, we'll zoom ahead to Hollywood and the final 24. If you've been reading Stevie's blog posts on American Idol, you'll know that he's been mightily hard on the exploitative nature of the auditions. I've gotten a little tired of that element as well.

The "Road To Hollywood" episode kind of mops up some of the auditions we haven't seen yet along the way and shows us some promising talent for the Hollywood rounds. And ironically, the episode probably introduced us to some of the strongest contenders of the series so far.

Jessica Furney

Jessica sings a Leona Lewis song - Footprints In The Sand - that we sensationally discover Simon Cowell was a co-writer on. This is way more important than how Jessica can actually sing - and the judges absent-mindedly give her four yeses. Mostly so they can get rid of her and continue gazing in disbelief at the fact that Simon can actually write songs. Read more »

Yes! The internet is buzzing this morning with rumours that the fifth series of Doctor Who will end on an epic note - filming of the finale is taking place at Pagan Central, Stonehenge, the Neolithic monument that stands in the middle of the Wiltshire countryside.

Rumour has it that not only were 11th Doctor Matt Smith and his companion Amy Pond (played by Karen Gillan) in attendance, ER actress Alex Kingston has been spotted on set. This implies that the enigmatic Professor River Song is involved in this episode. River Song, for those of you who don't know, first appeared in the two part Silence In The Library/Forest Of The Dead as a human who claimed to be The Doctor's companion from some point in the future. Better still, she reveals his true name to him, which further adds to her mystery - she knows something we don't know!

Anyway, via Gallifrey News Base, there's a great eyewitness account of the filming from that night. Here's an extract: Read more »

You know what's funny about watching American Idol when you've never been to America? You've heard of all these cities, but you haven't got a clue where they are!!!

Tonight's audition rounds are in Denver, which by way of Mork and Mindy I know is in Colorado. After a quick bit of Google mapping, I discover Colorado is kind of in the middle of America - and actually not too far from Texas (I had a hunch they were close). So, a quick plea to the American Idol producers - can we have some idea of where in your ginormous country you are each week? I'm guessing a geography lesson might help out some of the natives over there too...

And over to the auditions - the trio of permanent judges are joined once again by real-life stick figure and footballer's wife, Victoria Beckham. Personally, I liked Posh Spice as a judge last time round, so let's see if she impresses yet again. Read more »

Hot on the heels of that Avatar news, the other big development in cinema at the moment is the move toward 3D in a number of big upcoming movies.

Notably, Warner Bros. are throwing 3D at a number of forthcoming movies. The long-awaited sequel to Cats and Dogs will be in 3D, as will the epic Clash Of The Titans remake, and the first part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. And you can bet if Part I of that movie is going to be in 3D, then Part II will most likely follow suit.

Read more »

For a movie that's earned over $2billion to date, James Cameron's Avatar was always going to spawn a sequel. And judging from the words of News Corp CEO, Rupert Murdoch, the follow-up is in the early discussion stages. According to FirstShowing.net:

They are definitely "pushing for one" but cautioned analysts not to "hold your breath for an early one," implying that it may take them a little more than two years to make another. For anyone that doubted that Fox would make a sequel, well, this is the final bit of proof that it is certainly happening, sooner than later.

Cameron, who masterminded The Terminator and Alien, both of which became hugely successful film franchises, says he has some ideas for a sequel. However, everybody who's spoken on the prospect of a second Avatar movie is being guarded about timeframes, looking to about 2 years or more for the release of a second one.

And that's if the film gets made within time and doesn't blow its budget! Read more »

Let me introduce you to Sambassadeur, a Swedish four-piece who (from what I hear) began as a "DIY version of ABBA" back in 2003.

Whatever those early ambitions might have been, in 2010, Sambassadeur have a style that's more Belle And Sebastian than Dancing Queen. Stranded, the opening track from their third album, instantly recalls that dreamy, otherworldly effect that Belle And Sebastian created with Act Of The Apostle from The Life Pursuit album a couple of years back.

The rest of the nine-track album carries on in a similar style - sweeping symphonic strings are married to delightfully prominent bass guitar grooves. Lead singer Anna Persson lends a rich and relaxed vocal to each song, which makes European a very mellow album to listen to, even on the more uptempo tracks. Read more »

The prequel series to Battlestar Gallactica - Caprica - started tonight on Sky One. Now, a moment of full disclosure: Battlestar Gallactica is one of those massive sci-fi series that I've steered clear of out of sheer terror. BSG had/has an enormous geek following, and it's difficult to break into a series that is so well-established, so late on.

Caprica is a fresh start for an old series. It begins with an orgy of sex and violence (a strong start?) which turns out to be some kind of virtual world that three school children are inhabiting. Back in the real world, the three are planning to run away from home together. One of them chickens out, the other two get on a train together. But here's the shocker - one of them is a suicide bomber who promptly proceeds to blow the train to pieces.

Zoe - one of the two who died on the train - is the daughter of a wealthy inventor, creator of the visor technology that allows access to this virtual world. He discovers Zoe's friend using the technology and discovers a digital 'replica' of his daughter stuck in the VR world. He very quickly works out that this advanced technology could help his business out of a rut - and captures the digital Zoe to analyse. Read more »

Well, here's this weeks UK top 10 - and for the fourth week of 2010, there still isn't anything that's really amazed me. OK, I'm loving a bit of Marina And The Diamonds' Hollywood at the moment, and Alicia Keys is performing solidly with her new music.

Anyway, the top ten for the week beginning 31st January 2010 looks a little like this... Read more »