John Bull apparently started his existence — life seems too strong a word for a fictional character — in an eighteenth century pamphlet.1 Since then,…
CIPC #249: Ogroff
If you are an avid reader of this blog, you know that I have seen a fair amount of god awful movies. You have seen…
CIPC #248: 8 out of 10 cats does countdown S20 E2
The origin of 8 out of 10 cats does countdown is a bit convoluted. The show Countdown, in which participants have to solve anagrams and…
CIPC #247: House of Frankenstein
By 1944, when House of Frankenstein was released, the Universal horror movies their monsters and their stars already had a reputation. And this movie had…
CIPC #246: Endeavour S4 E1, Game
Long after Morse there was Endeavour. It deals with Endeavour who was there long before Morse. I realize that that’s a rather opaque introduction for…
CIPC #245: Sporza article
Usually, I talk about classy, old movies, or vintage advertisements, or perhaps an episode for some widely popular detective series. But this is an emergency.…
CIPC #244: Le château de verre
Today’s subject, a French film from 1950, is a good example of how getting a bunch of talent together does not necessarily yield a great…
CIPC #243: Luther S1E1
Luther sounds like it should be a documentary series about the eponymic theologist and his ninety-five theses, or perhaps about his royal namesake. But no.…
CIPC #242: Lego chess sets box covers
I can imagine Nintendo disappearing. I can imagine Hot Wheels disappearing. But I can not image Lego disappearing. The ingenious connecting system, the sturdy material,…
CIPC #241: Hogan’s heroes S4 E21, Up in Klink’s room
A prisoner of war camp in Nazi Germany is a rather unlikely setting for a comedy sitcom and perhaps it would be hard to get…