Doctor Who returned with something of a bang last weekend (you might just have noticed). With both decent overnight ratings (4.64 million, slightly up on last year's opener) and an AI score of eighty three. Plus, The Pilot was a proper terrific episode, as a most of those who get paid to comment upon such things have concurred. 
And, the BBC's popular long-running family SF drama has been celebrating another triumph this week, as The Oxford English Dictionary its very self has announced that it is adding the word(s) 'sonic screwdriver' to its catalogue of the English language. Billed as 'another of Doctor Who's most iconic contributions to science fiction and British culture,' the term will be introduced as an add-on to the 'sonic' entry in the Dictionary's revised edition being published in June. It will be the fourth term derived from Doctor Who to be included in the dictionary, following 'TARDIS', 'Dalek' and 'Cyberman'. Although The Doctor's sonic tool has been through a huge number of redesigns since it debuted, it has continued to be a mainstay of the series since the late 1960s. Except in the mid-1980s when then-producer John Nathan-Turner got rid of it for reasons which were never adequately explained. It first appeared in 1968's Fury From The Deep with The Doctor (Patrick Troughton) using it to open a hatch on a gas pipeline. 
The first sonic screwdriver was a mainstay through the Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker eras but was destroyed by a Tereleptil in The Visitation just before The Great Fire Of London during the fifth Doctor, Peter Davison's era. It returned when the series was revived, briefly, with Paul McGann in 1996 and then, more permanently, with Christopher Eccleston in 2005. In 2015, based on one stray throwaway comment by The Lord Thy God Steven Moffat (OBE) several newspapers (and, the Metro which isn't really a newspaper) announced news of its demise. But, they were talking shite as newspapers often do. When this blogger announced the very welcome news of 'sonic screwdriver's official recognition on his Facebook page, The Lord Thy God Steven Moffat (OBE) was in like a shot to note: 'But, it's two words. And they're both already there.' Can't argue with that, really. You should have a word with them, Steven. Or, two, in fact.
Doctor Who's new series may have started, but that hasn't stopped the - often irdiculous - speculation about who will be the new Doctor for continuing on and on and on. Among the many names to have been rumoured - by some glake withy t6oo vmuch time on their hands - Maxine Peake has been put 'forward' to be the first female Doctor, albeit no by anyone that actually has a bloody clue what they're talking about. Now, however, Maxine her very self has categorically stated that she has no desire to enter the TARDIS. 'God, no! Some journalist just sits in a room and goes, "Oh, hang on, she looks a bit like a bloke or she's a big androgynous, she played Hamlet so stick her name down,"' the acclaimed acrtess told the Radio Times. Thank God someone other than this blooger has seemingly worked out the narrow way in which journalists minds work when it comes to casting decision. 'My dad texted me one day and said, "why didn't you tell me you were going to be the new Doctor Who?" And I said, "It's not because it slipped my mind." I said, "Because I'm not." And the Bolton Evening News had said "touted." But no, I mean, I hope it's a woman but it doesn't really bother me as long as the person who gets it really wants to do it.'
The BBC have said there are 'currently no plans' for a female Doctor, but they've announced it in an unusual manner. At least, according to the ever reliable Sun - so it must be true. The discovery came after 'a keen Doctor Who fan' filed an official whinge to the Beeb with concerns that switching the gender of the character would 'confuse his kids.' A BBC worker promptly wrote back to this chap and 'assured' him the next Doctor would 'definitely' be another man. Complaints officer Joanne Coyne wrote: 'We appreciate that you're a big Doctor Who fan and you have concerns that the programme would change should there be a female doctor. Be assured there are currently no plans to have a female Doctor Who.' Joanne also said that the whinger's worries 'would be passed onto senior managers and programme makers including the Doctor Who team.' So, assuming that complaints officer Joanne Coyne knows what she's talking about (and, in an organisation as big as the BBC, that's a big assumption), there you jolly-well have it.
Now, dear blog reader, you've probably heard already but there's going to be a whopping great general erection coming up in a few weeks. So, you know what to do.
Either him or, you know, Clint Eastwood and General Saint. Obviously.
Unless, of course, you fancy going for one of the alternative parties.
Let's face it, they're still better than UKiP. Next ...
The writer and creator of Broadchurch has said he feels 'emotional' about the third and final series coming to an end. The last episode of the ITV drama starring national heartthrob David Tennant and Olivia Colman her very self, was broadcast on Monday. Chris Chibnall told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'It's a strange feeling actually. It's been an extraordinary journey with the show and [its success] has taken us all by surprise.' Confirming that the drama will not return for any future series - as Chib will be rather busy doing something else - he added: 'That is it and there will be no more after this one, absolutely.' The storyline of the final series centred around the rape of Trish Winterman - played - brilliantly - by former Coronation Street actress Julie Hesmondhalgh. The series ended with cab driver Clive's sixteen-year-old son, Michael (Deon Lee-Williams) revealed as Trish's rapist, having been forced into it by his friend Leo Humphries (Chris Mason). Humphries also admitted to raping three other women previously. Humphries was seen in a particularly shocking scenes in the police interview room coldly telling Ellie Miller and Alec Hardy that he was 'proud' of his sick and sordid crimes and that he believed rape was 'beautiful.' Somerset and Avon Rape and Sexual Abuse Support, the charity that advised Chibnall during the series, said that the show performed 'excellent work' in portraying the 'reality' of rape. Chibnall's next job will be taking over the reins at Doctor Who, after The Lord Thy God Steven Moffat (OBE) announced he would be leaving the long-running family SF drama. But, Chibnall was reluctant to give too much away about what he has planned for Doctor Who when he takes over. 'It's way too early to talk about Doctor Who. There's still an amazing series to go out with Peter Capaldi,' he said. 'I've been thinking about it for a long time and we're putting a team together. But for another year there is an amazing Doctor, there's an amazing showrunner in Steven Moffat and I've read the scripts for this series and they are phenomenal.'
The final and consolidated ratings for the Top Twenty Three programmes broadcast, week-ending Sunday 9 April 2017:-
1 Broadchurch - Mon ITV - 10.17m
2 Coronation Street - Wed ITV - 7.56m
3 Line Of Duty - Sun BBC1 - 7.37m
4 EastEnders - Mon BBC1 - 6.96m
5 Ant and/or Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway - Sat ITV - 6.90m
6 Vera - Sun ITV - 6.80m
7 Emmerdale - Mon ITV - 6.50m
8 All Round To Mrs Brown's - Sat BBC1 - 6.29m
9 Countryfile - Sun BBC1 - 6.21m
10 MasterChef - Wed BBC1 - 5.45m
11 Casualty - Sat BBC1 - 5.27m
12 Prime Suspect 1973 - Thurs ITV - 5.00m
13 Antiques Roadshow - Sun BBC1 - 4.81m
14 Six O'Clock News - Mon BBC1 - 4.80m
15 BBC News - Sun BBC1 - 4.63m
16 Ten O'Clock News - Thurs BBC1 - 4.38m
17 Holby City - Tues BBC1 - 4.23m
18 Benidorm - Wed ITV - 4.15m
19 The Graham Norton Show - Fri BBC1 - 3.95m
20 ITV Racing Live - Sat ITV - 3.79m
21 The ONE Show - Mon BBC1 - 3.67m
22 Gogglebox - Fri C4 - 3.41m
23 Galapagos - Thurs BBC1 - 3.39m
24 Pointless Z-List Celebrities - Sat BBC1 - 3.20m
These consolidated figures, published weekly by the British Audience Research Bureau, include all viewers who watched programmes live and on various forms of catch-up TV and video-on-demand during the seven days after initial broadcast. They do not, however, include those who watched on BBC's iPlayer or ITV Player via their computers. The three nightly episodes of MasterChef this week drew 4.88 million, 5.45 million and 4.35 million viewers respectively. ITV's latest risible piece of festering diarrhoea, Little Big Shits pulled in but 2.64 million (a fall of over five hundred thousand punters on the previous episode). Once again, dear blog reader, this blogger would love to tell you all how many punters were watching The Nightly Show but he can't because not a single one of them registered in ITV's top thirty. A continuing tragedy.
On BBC2, the top-rated programme was the University Challenge final (3.02 million). That was followed by Gardeners' World (2.59 million). Mary Berry Everyday was watched by 2.50 million, Bake Off: Creme De La Creme by 2.46 million, Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond The Lobby by 2.39 million, The Last Kingdom by 2.06 million and Golf coverage by 1.87 million. The final of Only Connect attracted 1.86 million viewers, Me & My Dog: The Ultimate Contest, 1.70 million, Second Chance Summer: Tuscany, 1.50 million and Great American Railroad Journeys, 1.35 million viewers. Hotel Armadillo: Natural World was seen by 1.29 million viewers. Aside from Gogglebox, Channel Four's second highest-rated broadcast was One Born Every Minute (2.01 million), The Last Leg With Adam Hills (1.86 million), The Secret Life Of The Zoo (1.85 million), F1 China Grand Prix Highlights (1.61 million) and Travel Man: Forty Eight Hours In Miami (1.54 million). Twenty Four Hours In A&E had 1.51 million, Homeland, 1.47 million, Dispatches: President Trump - How Scared Should We Be?, 1.35 million and Location, Location, Location, 1.22 million. Rich House Poor House was Channel Five's top performer with an audience of 2.01 million, ahead of Shannon Matthews: The Mother's Story (1.76 million), Can't Pay? We'll Take It Away! (1.68 million), Yorkshire: A Year In The Wild (also 1.51 million), GPs: Behind Closed Doors (1.34 million), Police Interceptors (1.31 million) and Inside The Tube: Going Underground (1.22 million). Tony Robinson: Coast To Coast drew 1.11 million. NCIS was watched by nine hundred and seventy four thousand. 
Premier League action dominated Sky Sports 1's top-ten. The Wear-Tees derby between The Mackems and The Smoggies was seen by eight hundred and ninety three thousand punters whilst the game between Everton and Leicester City drew eight hundred and fifty nine million. The Stottingtot Hotshots versus Watford match was seen by five hundred and seventy nine thousand whilst, in the Championship yer actual Keith Telly Topping's Beloved (though unsellable) Mapgies cowardly surrender-before-kick-off at Sheffield Wednesday had three hundred and fifty nine thousand. On Sky Sports 2, more Championship action, promotion-seeking Brighton & Hove Albinos visit to Queens Park Strangers attracted two hundred and sixty one thousand punters and Tuesday evening's Gillette Soccer Special was watched by one hundred and thirteen thousand. Gillette Soccer Saturday was, as usual, top of the shop on Sky Sports News HQ, with five hundred and four thousand punters. The simultcast on Sky Sports 1 attracted four hundred and sixty five thousand. Sky1's weekly top-ten was headed by Stan Lee's Lucky Man (eight hundred and fifty seven thousand viewers). The Flash was seen by eight hundred and eleven thousand, NCIS: Los Angeles by eight hundred and five thousand, Hawaii Five-0 by seven hundred and thirty six thousand, Modern Family by six hundred and eighty five thousand, DCs Legends Of Tomorrow by five hundred and eighty five thousand, Arrow by five hundred and twenty nine thousand, Supergirl by four hundred and ninety four thousand The Blacklist: Redemption by four hundred and sixty six thousand. 
Sky Atlantic's list was topped by the fourth episode of the much-trailed Big Little Lies (four hundred and thirty seven thousand) whilst Blue Bloods was seen by four hundred and nine thousand. Billions had three hundred and forty eight thousand, The Trip To Spain, two hundred and ninety six thousand (with two hundred and sixty thousand for a repeat later in the week), This Week Tonight With John Oliver, two hundred and nine thousand and Girls, one hundred and seventy three thousand. On Sky Living, the latest episode of Elementary was seen by eight hundred and eighteen thousand whilst Criminal Minds had eight hundred and seventeen thousand. Bones drew seven hundred and fifty two thousand, Grey's Anatomy, five hundred and sixty eight thousand, Madam Secretary, four hundred and seventy four thousand, America's Next Top Model, three hundred and forty four thousand and the wretched Scandal, three hundred and thirty three thousand. Sky Arts' Fake! The Great Masterpiece Challenge was watched by forty eight thousand viewers whilst Discovering David Bowie (a particularly shoddy and badly researched cut-and-paste job in which some people you've never heard of spend a couple of minutes discussing a single by The Kon-Rads on which David didn't even play) drew forty three thousand. The Hollies: Look Through Any Window had forty thousand. Midsomer Murders was ITV3's top-rated drama (eight hundred and forty five thousand viewers). Lewis was seen by seven hundred and nineteen thousand and Doc Martin by five hundred and fifty nine thousand. Foyle's War had five hundred and thirty three thousand. Benidorm headed ITV4's weekly list with three hundred and thirty seven thousand punters. The movie Pale Rider was seen by three hundred and twenty four thousand and The Big Z-List Celebrity Fish Off drew two hundred and ninety nine thousand. ITV2's most-watched broadcasts were for the latest episode of worthless pile of rancid, stinking diarrhoea Z-List Celebrity Juice (1.17 million morons, every single one of whom should be given help on the NHS). Family Guy (eight hundred and nineteen thousand) and the film Lord Of The Rings: The Followship Of The Ring (seven hundred and eighty five thousand) came next. Harlots headed ITV Encore's top ten with one hundred and forty eight thousand viewers, followed by DCI Banks (fifty three thousand) and Poirot (thirty six thousand). The Only Way Is Essex was seen by 1.08 million of the sort of people who enjoy this risible exercise in z-list-celebrity-by-non-entity on ITVBe. Enough said, really. BBC4's list was topped by The Bermuda Triangle: Beneath The Waves (seven hundred and thirty three thousand viewers) and the movie The Keeper Of Lost Causes (five hundred and six thousand). Next came Yellowstone (four hundred and fifty thousand), Wild Scotland (four hundred and one thousand), Roof Racks & Hatchbacks: The Family Car (three hundred and eighty eight thousand), Dust Storms (three hundred and sixty four thousand) and Lost Land Of The Volcano (three hundred and fifty eight thousand). Horizon drew three hundred and forty four thousand, The Queen Mary: The Greatest Ocean Liner, three hundred and thirty one thousand and Storyville: Exposed - Magician, Psychics & Frauds, three hundred and twenty one thousand viewers. 
5USA's Person Of Interest was viewed by five hundred and sixty seven thousand viewers, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit by five hundred and thirty six thousand and NCIS by four hundred and eighty one thousand. NCIS also featured in the weekly most-watch programme lists of Channel Five, CBS Action (one hundred and twelve thousand), the Universal Channel (eighty eight thousand) and FOX (seven hundred and twenty three thousand viewers). The latest episode of The Walking Dead topped FOX's viewing figures with 1.54 million. Bull had three hundred and ninety five thousand. 24: Legacy continued to shed viewers with two hundred and seventy three thousand whilst Outcast was seen by two hundred and fifty six thousand. The Universal Channel's Chicago Med attracted two hundred and ninety eight thousand and Chicago Justice, two hundred and seventy thousand. On Dave, Not Going Out was watched by four hundred and twenty eight thousand viewers. Alan Davies: As Yet Unfunny drew three hundred and forty five thousand, followed by Have I Got A Bit More News For You (three hundred and ten thousand) and Qi XL (three hundred and nine thousand). Drama's The Brokenwood Mysteries was watched by five hundred and fifty five thousand viewers. The Inspector Lynley Mysteries was seen by four hundred and ninety three thousand and New Tricks, by four hundred and twenty five thousand. 
Alibi's highest-rated programmes was Murdoch Mysteries (two hundred and forty six thousand) whilst Father Brown had one hundred and thirteen thousand, Quantico, one hundred and five thousand and Death In Paradise, eighty three thousand. On The Sony Channel, the movies A Few Good Men and Sleepless In Seattle were watched by fifty nine thousand and fifty six thousand respectively. Hustle drew forty five thousand and [spooks], thirty thousand. Yesterday's Abandoned Engineering continued with three hundred and thirty six thousand and Porridge attracted two hundred and eighteen thousand. On the Discovery Channel, Gold Rush was watched by one hundred and seventy seven thousand viewers. Street Outlaws had one hundred and two thousand, and same total as achieved by Alaskan Bush People. The Wheel was also viewed by one hundred and two thousand and Naked & Afraid by ninety two thousand. From The North favourite Wheeler Dealers topped the weekly list of Discovery Shed (thirty nine thousand) and also appeared in the top ten of Discovery Turbo (thirty three thousand). The latter's top ten was headed by Kindig Customs (forty one thousand). Discovery History's Battlefield Mysteries headed the top ten-list with twenty nine thousand. Time Team attracted twenty two thousand, as did A Time To Remember. On Discovery Science, How Do They Do It? was seen by forty nine thousand viewers. 
On Quest, Mighty Train was watched by two hundred and seventy thousand and yet another episode of Wheeler Dealers attracted two hundred and sixty six thousand. Pick's Big Cats: An Amazing Animal Family had three hundred and eleven thousand, Monkey Life drew two hundred and forty seven thousand and Britain's Most Evil Murdering Bastard Killers ... With The Blood And The Screaming And That had two hundred and thirty five thousand. National Geographic's list was headed by Car SOS with eighty six thousand viewers, Seconds From Disaster (forty four thousand) and Air Crash Investigations (forty thousand). National Geographic Wild's Wild Twenty Four: Tasmania was watched by thirty five thousand. Snakes In The City was seen by thirty thousand. The History Channel's weekly list was topped by Forged In Fire (one hundred and sixty three thousand) and Black Sails (seventy six thousand). On Military History, Pirate Treasure Of The Knights Templar was watched by thirty five thousand punters. Cold Case Files, Crimes That Shook Australia Till It Shaken, Homicide Hunter and Leah Remini: Scientology & The Aftermath were Crime & Investigation's top-rated programmes with sixty five thousand, sixty one thousand, forty four thousand and forty two thousand blood-and-snots-lovers, respectively. Murder Comes To Town, Swamp Murders, Murder On CCTV and Who Killed Jane Doe? headed Investigation Discovery's list (one hundred and eight thousand, sixty seven thousand, fifty five thousand and fifty thousand). GOLD's repeat run of Mrs Brown's Boys attracted two hundred and ninety three thousand. Henry IX had two hundred and thirteen thousand. And, was about as funny as a good hard kick in the Jacob's Cream Crackers with hobnail boots. Comedy Central's largest audience of the week was for The Middle (three hundred and forty two thousand). Your TV's repeat of Bones series two continued with an audience of one hundred and thirty seven thousand. On More4, The Good Fight was the highest-rated programme with six hundred and sixty two thousand. Walks With My Dog attracted four hundred and fifteen thousand punters and Homes By The Med, three hundred and fifty nine thousand. E4's list was topped, as usual, by The Big Bang Theory, the latest episode attracting 2.46 million viewers, by an 'uge distance the largest multi-channels audience of the week. Made In Chelsea drew 1.07 million viewers and Hollyoaks, nine hundred and ninety seven thousand. 
The Horror Channel's broadcast of The Breed attracted one hundred and four thousand, in a top ten that also included the likes of Into The Grizzly Maze (ninety nine thousand), The Devil's Rejects (seventy four thousand), And Soon The Darkness (sixty two thousand) and When A Stranger Calls (fifty six thousand). Sleepy Hollow, headed Syfy's top-ten with one hundred and ninety nine thousand. Star Trek: The Next Generation was seen by seventy two thousand. HG Wells' Invisible Man topped Talking Pictures list with thirty six thousand. Under Siege drew two hundred and sixty six thousand punters on Spike. Frozen Planet was watched by forty two thousand on Eden. Pit Bulls & Parolees and Meet The Penguins were the Animal Planet's most-watched programme with forty six thousand and thirty two thousand. Grimm on W drew five hundred and seventy three thousand punters. On the True Crime channel, Killer Kids was watched by twenty two thousand punters. True Entertainment's M*A*S*H was seen by one hundred and thirteen thousand. The Avengers had one hundred and eight thousand and The Man From U.N.C.L.E, one hundred and six thousand. Rick Stein's From Venice To Istanbul attracted one hundred and five thousand on Good Food. TLC's list was headed by Say Yes To The Dress (one hundred and forty two thousand). Shameful waste-of-oxygen Geordie Shore on MTV was viewed by nine hundred and thirty eight thousand.
A council has apologised for suggesting that Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet creator Gerry Anderson would be attending one of its festivals - despite him dying four years ago. North Norfolk District Council incorrectly stated that people could 'come see him!' in Cromer on Sunday. The council quickly apologised after it was pointed out to them on social media that Gerry had, in fact, died in December 2012. As noted on this blog at the time. It clarified that the festival would be showing Thunderbirds memorabilia instead, as first reported by the EDP. The Gerry Anderson memorabilia is on display at Cromer's Sixties Festival on 23 April and will include items from Stingray, Thunderbirds, Supercar, Fireball XL5, UFO and Captain Scarlet. But, not Joe 90. Cos it was crap (good theme tune, though).
A driver filmed screaming obscenities at BBC presenter Jeremy Vine as he cycled through London has been very jailed after losing an appeal against her conviction for threatening behaviour. Shanique Syrena Pearson made a gun sign at Vine during the row in Kensington in August 2016. The twenty two-year-old was convicted in February of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour. Giving evidence earlier, Vine said that he 'felt in danger' at the time of the incident. Pearson was extremely jailed for nine months following the appeal hearing at Isleworth Crown Court. At the time of the altercation, she was already subject to a suspended sentence for a string of previous convictions for robbery, thefts and assault. Footage of the confrontation was filmed on the presenter's helmet camera and posted online, where it has since had millions of views. It shows Vine trying to explain to Pearson that he was cycling along the centre of the narrow Hornton Street in Kensington to avoid the parked cars either side. Pearson denied making a gun shape with her hand, claiming that she stuck her middle finger up at him and had felt threatened when he cycled up to the passenger window of her car. She told the court: 'I know he saw me put my middle finger up because he smiled so I know he's not telling the truth about that.' She was also convicted in February of driving without reasonable consideration for other road users at Hammersmith Magistrates' Court. She had admitted driving an unlicensed vehicle.
Clifton James, who appeared as Sheriff JW Pepper in two James Bond films, has died at the age of ninety six. He died close to his childhood home in Gladstone, Oregon, on Saturday due to complications from diabetes. James was best known for appearing alongside Sir Roger Moore in the Bond films Live & Let Die - one of the very best - and The Man With The Golden Gun - one of ... not so good ones - during the 1970s. Clifton's daughter, Lynn said: 'He was the most outgoing person, beloved by everybody.' She added: 'I don't think the man had an enemy. We were incredibly blessed to have had him in our lives.' In 1973 James played Louisiana sheriff JW Pepper in Live & Let Die, in which he made a memorable appearance during a chaotic boat chase sequence and its rather messy aftermath. His character proved to be so popular that he was asked to reprise the role in 1974's The Man With The Golden Gun, involving another car chase, in Thailand, and a scene where he gets pushed into water by a baby elephant. Paying tribute on Twitter, Sir Roger wrote: 'Terribly said to hear Clifton James has left us. As JW Pepper he gave my first two Bond films a great, fun character.'
James was born in Spokane, Washington and grew up in Oregon, in the Gladstone area of Clackamas County. He was a decorated World War II veteran as a Platoon Sergeant in the one hundred and sixty third infantry division. He served forty-two months in the South Pacific, Australia, New Guinea and the Philippines. His decorations include the Silver Star, Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts. His acting career spanned five decades and included stints on stage, TV and film. He made his Broadway stage debut at the warm-hearted construction foreman in William Saroyan's The Cave Dwellers. He played a very similar character to Pepper in both Silver Streak (1976) and Superman II (1980) and had a more serious role in The Reivers (1969 opposite Steve McQueen). On getting cast as redneck sheriffs so often, he once observed: 'I noticed they love their stomachs. They stick them out, they're really proud of their stomachs.' James was the district attorney who prosecutes Al Capone in the film The Untouchables (1987). He played a Navy master-at-arms in The Last Detail (1973) starring Jack Nicholson and Chicago White Sox baseball team owner Charles Comiskey in Eight Men Out (1988). Despite being a lifelong New Yorker (and an Actors Studio member of long standing), Clifton was cast as a Southerner in many of his roles, such as the powerful Houston lawyer Striker Bellman in the daytime soap opera Texas from 1981 to 1982. He was the penitentiary's floor-walker in the Paul Newman film Cool Hand Luke (1967) and again as Sheriff Lester Crabb, a temporary replacement for regular Sheriff Coltrane in the second season of The Dukes Of Hazzard. Clifton appeared on thirteen episodes of the sitcom Lewis & Clark. Other television credits include appearances in the drama City Of Angels, The Phil Silvers Show, Naked City, Route Sixty Six, Slattery's People, The Virginian, Ironisde, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Six Million Dollar Man, Dallas, The Fall Guy, Murder, She Wrote and the mini-series Captains & The Kings. He appeared in two episodes of The A-Team. In 1996, he played the role of Red Kilgreen on the ABC daytime drama series All My Children. His other film roles include those of a wealthy Montana land baron whose cattle are being rustled in Rancho Deluxe (1975) and as the source who tips off a newspaperman to a potentially explosive story in The Bonfire Of The Vanities (1990). James was featured in a number of movies by writer-director John Sayles like Lone Star (1996) and Sunshine State (2002). His last film credit was a 2006 comedy, Raising Flagg. James married twice: to Donna Lea Beach, from 1948 to 1950, with whom he had one child and to Laurie Harper, from 1951 until her death in 2015. The couple had five children.
And, the BBC's popular long-running family SF drama has been celebrating another triumph this week, as The Oxford English Dictionary its very self has announced that it is adding the word(s) 'sonic screwdriver' to its catalogue of the English language. Billed as 'another of Doctor Who's most iconic contributions to science fiction and British culture,' the term will be introduced as an add-on to the 'sonic' entry in the Dictionary's revised edition being published in June. It will be the fourth term derived from Doctor Who to be included in the dictionary, following 'TARDIS', 'Dalek' and 'Cyberman'. Although The Doctor's sonic tool has been through a huge number of redesigns since it debuted, it has continued to be a mainstay of the series since the late 1960s. Except in the mid-1980s when then-producer John Nathan-Turner got rid of it for reasons which were never adequately explained. It first appeared in 1968's Fury From The Deep with The Doctor (Patrick Troughton) using it to open a hatch on a gas pipeline. 
The first sonic screwdriver was a mainstay through the Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker eras but was destroyed by a Tereleptil in The Visitation just before The Great Fire Of London during the fifth Doctor, Peter Davison's era. It returned when the series was revived, briefly, with Paul McGann in 1996 and then, more permanently, with Christopher Eccleston in 2005. In 2015, based on one stray throwaway comment by The Lord Thy God Steven Moffat (OBE) several newspapers (and, the Metro which isn't really a newspaper) announced news of its demise. But, they were talking shite as newspapers often do. When this blogger announced the very welcome news of 'sonic screwdriver's official recognition on his Facebook page, The Lord Thy God Steven Moffat (OBE) was in like a shot to note: 'But, it's two words. And they're both already there.' Can't argue with that, really. You should have a word with them, Steven. Or, two, in fact. 
Now, dear blog reader, you've probably heard already but there's going to be a whopping great general erection coming up in a few weeks. So, you know what to do.
The writer and creator of Broadchurch has said he feels 'emotional' about the third and final series coming to an end. The last episode of the ITV drama starring national heartthrob David Tennant and Olivia Colman her very self, was broadcast on Monday. Chris Chibnall told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'It's a strange feeling actually. It's been an extraordinary journey with the show and [its success] has taken us all by surprise.' Confirming that the drama will not return for any future series - as Chib will be rather busy doing something else - he added: 'That is it and there will be no more after this one, absolutely.' The storyline of the final series centred around the rape of Trish Winterman - played - brilliantly - by former Coronation Street actress Julie Hesmondhalgh. The series ended with cab driver Clive's sixteen-year-old son, Michael (Deon Lee-Williams) revealed as Trish's rapist, having been forced into it by his friend Leo Humphries (Chris Mason). Humphries also admitted to raping three other women previously. Humphries was seen in a particularly shocking scenes in the police interview room coldly telling Ellie Miller and Alec Hardy that he was 'proud' of his sick and sordid crimes and that he believed rape was 'beautiful.' Somerset and Avon Rape and Sexual Abuse Support, the charity that advised Chibnall during the series, said that the show performed 'excellent work' in portraying the 'reality' of rape. Chibnall's next job will be taking over the reins at Doctor Who, after The Lord Thy God Steven Moffat (OBE) announced he would be leaving the long-running family SF drama. But, Chibnall was reluctant to give too much away about what he has planned for Doctor Who when he takes over. 'It's way too early to talk about Doctor Who. There's still an amazing series to go out with Peter Capaldi,' he said. 'I've been thinking about it for a long time and we're putting a team together. But for another year there is an amazing Doctor, there's an amazing showrunner in Steven Moffat and I've read the scripts for this series and they are phenomenal.'
1 Broadchurch - Mon ITV - 10.17m
2 Coronation Street - Wed ITV - 7.56m
3 Line Of Duty - Sun BBC1 - 7.37m
4 EastEnders - Mon BBC1 - 6.96m
5 Ant and/or Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway - Sat ITV - 6.90m
6 Vera - Sun ITV - 6.80m
7 Emmerdale - Mon ITV - 6.50m
8 All Round To Mrs Brown's - Sat BBC1 - 6.29m
9 Countryfile - Sun BBC1 - 6.21m
10 MasterChef - Wed BBC1 - 5.45m
11 Casualty - Sat BBC1 - 5.27m
12 Prime Suspect 1973 - Thurs ITV - 5.00m
13 Antiques Roadshow - Sun BBC1 - 4.81m
14 Six O'Clock News - Mon BBC1 - 4.80m
15 BBC News - Sun BBC1 - 4.63m
16 Ten O'Clock News - Thurs BBC1 - 4.38m
17 Holby City - Tues BBC1 - 4.23m
18 Benidorm - Wed ITV - 4.15m
19 The Graham Norton Show - Fri BBC1 - 3.95m
20 ITV Racing Live - Sat ITV - 3.79m
21 The ONE Show - Mon BBC1 - 3.67m
22 Gogglebox - Fri C4 - 3.41m
23 Galapagos - Thurs BBC1 - 3.39m
24 Pointless Z-List Celebrities - Sat BBC1 - 3.20m
These consolidated figures, published weekly by the British Audience Research Bureau, include all viewers who watched programmes live and on various forms of catch-up TV and video-on-demand during the seven days after initial broadcast. They do not, however, include those who watched on BBC's iPlayer or ITV Player via their computers. The three nightly episodes of MasterChef this week drew 4.88 million, 5.45 million and 4.35 million viewers respectively. ITV's latest risible piece of festering diarrhoea, Little Big Shits pulled in but 2.64 million (a fall of over five hundred thousand punters on the previous episode). Once again, dear blog reader, this blogger would love to tell you all how many punters were watching The Nightly Show but he can't because not a single one of them registered in ITV's top thirty. A continuing tragedy.
On BBC2, the top-rated programme was the University Challenge final (3.02 million). That was followed by Gardeners' World (2.59 million). Mary Berry Everyday was watched by 2.50 million, Bake Off: Creme De La Creme by 2.46 million, Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond The Lobby by 2.39 million, The Last Kingdom by 2.06 million and Golf coverage by 1.87 million. The final of Only Connect attracted 1.86 million viewers, Me & My Dog: The Ultimate Contest, 1.70 million, Second Chance Summer: Tuscany, 1.50 million and Great American Railroad Journeys, 1.35 million viewers. Hotel Armadillo: Natural World was seen by 1.29 million viewers. Aside from Gogglebox, Channel Four's second highest-rated broadcast was One Born Every Minute (2.01 million), The Last Leg With Adam Hills (1.86 million), The Secret Life Of The Zoo (1.85 million), F1 China Grand Prix Highlights (1.61 million) and Travel Man: Forty Eight Hours In Miami (1.54 million). Twenty Four Hours In A&E had 1.51 million, Homeland, 1.47 million, Dispatches: President Trump - How Scared Should We Be?, 1.35 million and Location, Location, Location, 1.22 million. Rich House Poor House was Channel Five's top performer with an audience of 2.01 million, ahead of Shannon Matthews: The Mother's Story (1.76 million), Can't Pay? We'll Take It Away! (1.68 million), Yorkshire: A Year In The Wild (also 1.51 million), GPs: Behind Closed Doors (1.34 million), Police Interceptors (1.31 million) and Inside The Tube: Going Underground (1.22 million). Tony Robinson: Coast To Coast drew 1.11 million. NCIS was watched by nine hundred and seventy four thousand. Premier League action dominated Sky Sports 1's top-ten. The Wear-Tees derby between The Mackems and The Smoggies was seen by eight hundred and ninety three thousand punters whilst the game between Everton and Leicester City drew eight hundred and fifty nine million. The Stottingtot Hotshots versus Watford match was seen by five hundred and seventy nine thousand whilst, in the Championship yer actual Keith Telly Topping's Beloved (though unsellable) Mapgies cowardly surrender-before-kick-off at Sheffield Wednesday had three hundred and fifty nine thousand. On Sky Sports 2, more Championship action, promotion-seeking Brighton & Hove Albinos visit to Queens Park Strangers attracted two hundred and sixty one thousand punters and Tuesday evening's Gillette Soccer Special was watched by one hundred and thirteen thousand. Gillette Soccer Saturday was, as usual, top of the shop on Sky Sports News HQ, with five hundred and four thousand punters. The simultcast on Sky Sports 1 attracted four hundred and sixty five thousand. Sky1's weekly top-ten was headed by Stan Lee's Lucky Man (eight hundred and fifty seven thousand viewers). The Flash was seen by eight hundred and eleven thousand, NCIS: Los Angeles by eight hundred and five thousand, Hawaii Five-0 by seven hundred and thirty six thousand, Modern Family by six hundred and eighty five thousand, DCs Legends Of Tomorrow by five hundred and eighty five thousand, Arrow by five hundred and twenty nine thousand, Supergirl by four hundred and ninety four thousand The Blacklist: Redemption by four hundred and sixty six thousand. Sky Atlantic's list was topped by the fourth episode of the much-trailed Big Little Lies (four hundred and thirty seven thousand) whilst Blue Bloods was seen by four hundred and nine thousand. Billions had three hundred and forty eight thousand, The Trip To Spain, two hundred and ninety six thousand (with two hundred and sixty thousand for a repeat later in the week), This Week Tonight With John Oliver, two hundred and nine thousand and Girls, one hundred and seventy three thousand. On Sky Living, the latest episode of Elementary was seen by eight hundred and eighteen thousand whilst Criminal Minds had eight hundred and seventeen thousand. Bones drew seven hundred and fifty two thousand, Grey's Anatomy, five hundred and sixty eight thousand, Madam Secretary, four hundred and seventy four thousand, America's Next Top Model, three hundred and forty four thousand and the wretched Scandal, three hundred and thirty three thousand. Sky Arts' Fake! The Great Masterpiece Challenge was watched by forty eight thousand viewers whilst Discovering David Bowie (a particularly shoddy and badly researched cut-and-paste job in which some people you've never heard of spend a couple of minutes discussing a single by The Kon-Rads on which David didn't even play) drew forty three thousand. The Hollies: Look Through Any Window had forty thousand. Midsomer Murders was ITV3's top-rated drama (eight hundred and forty five thousand viewers). Lewis was seen by seven hundred and nineteen thousand and Doc Martin by five hundred and fifty nine thousand. Foyle's War had five hundred and thirty three thousand. Benidorm headed ITV4's weekly list with three hundred and thirty seven thousand punters. The movie Pale Rider was seen by three hundred and twenty four thousand and The Big Z-List Celebrity Fish Off drew two hundred and ninety nine thousand. ITV2's most-watched broadcasts were for the latest episode of worthless pile of rancid, stinking diarrhoea Z-List Celebrity Juice (1.17 million morons, every single one of whom should be given help on the NHS). Family Guy (eight hundred and nineteen thousand) and the film Lord Of The Rings: The Followship Of The Ring (seven hundred and eighty five thousand) came next. Harlots headed ITV Encore's top ten with one hundred and forty eight thousand viewers, followed by DCI Banks (fifty three thousand) and Poirot (thirty six thousand). The Only Way Is Essex was seen by 1.08 million of the sort of people who enjoy this risible exercise in z-list-celebrity-by-non-entity on ITVBe. Enough said, really. BBC4's list was topped by The Bermuda Triangle: Beneath The Waves (seven hundred and thirty three thousand viewers) and the movie The Keeper Of Lost Causes (five hundred and six thousand). Next came Yellowstone (four hundred and fifty thousand), Wild Scotland (four hundred and one thousand), Roof Racks & Hatchbacks: The Family Car (three hundred and eighty eight thousand), Dust Storms (three hundred and sixty four thousand) and Lost Land Of The Volcano (three hundred and fifty eight thousand). Horizon drew three hundred and forty four thousand, The Queen Mary: The Greatest Ocean Liner, three hundred and thirty one thousand and Storyville: Exposed - Magician, Psychics & Frauds, three hundred and twenty one thousand viewers. 5USA's Person Of Interest was viewed by five hundred and sixty seven thousand viewers, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit by five hundred and thirty six thousand and NCIS by four hundred and eighty one thousand. NCIS also featured in the weekly most-watch programme lists of Channel Five, CBS Action (one hundred and twelve thousand), the Universal Channel (eighty eight thousand) and FOX (seven hundred and twenty three thousand viewers). The latest episode of The Walking Dead topped FOX's viewing figures with 1.54 million. Bull had three hundred and ninety five thousand. 24: Legacy continued to shed viewers with two hundred and seventy three thousand whilst Outcast was seen by two hundred and fifty six thousand. The Universal Channel's Chicago Med attracted two hundred and ninety eight thousand and Chicago Justice, two hundred and seventy thousand. On Dave, Not Going Out was watched by four hundred and twenty eight thousand viewers. Alan Davies: As Yet Unfunny drew three hundred and forty five thousand, followed by Have I Got A Bit More News For You (three hundred and ten thousand) and Qi XL (three hundred and nine thousand). Drama's The Brokenwood Mysteries was watched by five hundred and fifty five thousand viewers. The Inspector Lynley Mysteries was seen by four hundred and ninety three thousand and New Tricks, by four hundred and twenty five thousand. Alibi's highest-rated programmes was Murdoch Mysteries (two hundred and forty six thousand) whilst Father Brown had one hundred and thirteen thousand, Quantico, one hundred and five thousand and Death In Paradise, eighty three thousand. On The Sony Channel, the movies A Few Good Men and Sleepless In Seattle were watched by fifty nine thousand and fifty six thousand respectively. Hustle drew forty five thousand and [spooks], thirty thousand. Yesterday's Abandoned Engineering continued with three hundred and thirty six thousand and Porridge attracted two hundred and eighteen thousand. On the Discovery Channel, Gold Rush was watched by one hundred and seventy seven thousand viewers. Street Outlaws had one hundred and two thousand, and same total as achieved by Alaskan Bush People. The Wheel was also viewed by one hundred and two thousand and Naked & Afraid by ninety two thousand. From The North favourite Wheeler Dealers topped the weekly list of Discovery Shed (thirty nine thousand) and also appeared in the top ten of Discovery Turbo (thirty three thousand). The latter's top ten was headed by Kindig Customs (forty one thousand). Discovery History's Battlefield Mysteries headed the top ten-list with twenty nine thousand. Time Team attracted twenty two thousand, as did A Time To Remember. On Discovery Science, How Do They Do It? was seen by forty nine thousand viewers. On Quest, Mighty Train was watched by two hundred and seventy thousand and yet another episode of Wheeler Dealers attracted two hundred and sixty six thousand. Pick's Big Cats: An Amazing Animal Family had three hundred and eleven thousand, Monkey Life drew two hundred and forty seven thousand and Britain's Most Evil Murdering Bastard Killers ... With The Blood And The Screaming And That had two hundred and thirty five thousand. National Geographic's list was headed by Car SOS with eighty six thousand viewers, Seconds From Disaster (forty four thousand) and Air Crash Investigations (forty thousand). National Geographic Wild's Wild Twenty Four: Tasmania was watched by thirty five thousand. Snakes In The City was seen by thirty thousand. The History Channel's weekly list was topped by Forged In Fire (one hundred and sixty three thousand) and Black Sails (seventy six thousand). On Military History, Pirate Treasure Of The Knights Templar was watched by thirty five thousand punters. Cold Case Files, Crimes That Shook Australia Till It Shaken, Homicide Hunter and Leah Remini: Scientology & The Aftermath were Crime & Investigation's top-rated programmes with sixty five thousand, sixty one thousand, forty four thousand and forty two thousand blood-and-snots-lovers, respectively. Murder Comes To Town, Swamp Murders, Murder On CCTV and Who Killed Jane Doe? headed Investigation Discovery's list (one hundred and eight thousand, sixty seven thousand, fifty five thousand and fifty thousand). GOLD's repeat run of Mrs Brown's Boys attracted two hundred and ninety three thousand. Henry IX had two hundred and thirteen thousand. And, was about as funny as a good hard kick in the Jacob's Cream Crackers with hobnail boots. Comedy Central's largest audience of the week was for The Middle (three hundred and forty two thousand). Your TV's repeat of Bones series two continued with an audience of one hundred and thirty seven thousand. On More4, The Good Fight was the highest-rated programme with six hundred and sixty two thousand. Walks With My Dog attracted four hundred and fifteen thousand punters and Homes By The Med, three hundred and fifty nine thousand. E4's list was topped, as usual, by The Big Bang Theory, the latest episode attracting 2.46 million viewers, by an 'uge distance the largest multi-channels audience of the week. Made In Chelsea drew 1.07 million viewers and Hollyoaks, nine hundred and ninety seven thousand. The Horror Channel's broadcast of The Breed attracted one hundred and four thousand, in a top ten that also included the likes of Into The Grizzly Maze (ninety nine thousand), The Devil's Rejects (seventy four thousand), And Soon The Darkness (sixty two thousand) and When A Stranger Calls (fifty six thousand). Sleepy Hollow, headed Syfy's top-ten with one hundred and ninety nine thousand. Star Trek: The Next Generation was seen by seventy two thousand. HG Wells' Invisible Man topped Talking Pictures list with thirty six thousand. Under Siege drew two hundred and sixty six thousand punters on Spike. Frozen Planet was watched by forty two thousand on Eden. Pit Bulls & Parolees and Meet The Penguins were the Animal Planet's most-watched programme with forty six thousand and thirty two thousand. Grimm on W drew five hundred and seventy three thousand punters. On the True Crime channel, Killer Kids was watched by twenty two thousand punters. True Entertainment's M*A*S*H was seen by one hundred and thirteen thousand. The Avengers had one hundred and eight thousand and The Man From U.N.C.L.E, one hundred and six thousand. Rick Stein's From Venice To Istanbul attracted one hundred and five thousand on Good Food. TLC's list was headed by Say Yes To The Dress (one hundred and forty two thousand). Shameful waste-of-oxygen Geordie Shore on MTV was viewed by nine hundred and thirty eight thousand. A council has apologised for suggesting that Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet creator Gerry Anderson would be attending one of its festivals - despite him dying four years ago. North Norfolk District Council incorrectly stated that people could 'come see him!' in Cromer on Sunday. The council quickly apologised after it was pointed out to them on social media that Gerry had, in fact, died in December 2012. As noted on this blog at the time. It clarified that the festival would be showing Thunderbirds memorabilia instead, as first reported by the EDP. The Gerry Anderson memorabilia is on display at Cromer's Sixties Festival on 23 April and will include items from Stingray, Thunderbirds, Supercar, Fireball XL5, UFO and Captain Scarlet. But, not Joe 90. Cos it was crap (good theme tune, though).
James was born in Spokane, Washington and grew up in Oregon, in the Gladstone area of Clackamas County. He was a decorated World War II veteran as a Platoon Sergeant in the one hundred and sixty third infantry division. He served forty-two months in the South Pacific, Australia, New Guinea and the Philippines. His decorations include the Silver Star, Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts. His acting career spanned five decades and included stints on stage, TV and film. He made his Broadway stage debut at the warm-hearted construction foreman in William Saroyan's The Cave Dwellers. He played a very similar character to Pepper in both Silver Streak (1976) and Superman II (1980) and had a more serious role in The Reivers (1969 opposite Steve McQueen). On getting cast as redneck sheriffs so often, he once observed: 'I noticed they love their stomachs. They stick them out, they're really proud of their stomachs.' James was the district attorney who prosecutes Al Capone in the film The Untouchables (1987). He played a Navy master-at-arms in The Last Detail (1973) starring Jack Nicholson and Chicago White Sox baseball team owner Charles Comiskey in Eight Men Out (1988). Despite being a lifelong New Yorker (and an Actors Studio member of long standing), Clifton was cast as a Southerner in many of his roles, such as the powerful Houston lawyer Striker Bellman in the daytime soap opera Texas from 1981 to 1982. He was the penitentiary's floor-walker in the Paul Newman film Cool Hand Luke (1967) and again as Sheriff Lester Crabb, a temporary replacement for regular Sheriff Coltrane in the second season of The Dukes Of Hazzard. Clifton appeared on thirteen episodes of the sitcom Lewis & Clark. Other television credits include appearances in the drama City Of Angels, The Phil Silvers Show, Naked City, Route Sixty Six, Slattery's People, The Virginian, Ironisde, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, The Six Million Dollar Man, Dallas, The Fall Guy, Murder, She Wrote and the mini-series Captains & The Kings. He appeared in two episodes of The A-Team. In 1996, he played the role of Red Kilgreen on the ABC daytime drama series All My Children. His other film roles include those of a wealthy Montana land baron whose cattle are being rustled in Rancho Deluxe (1975) and as the source who tips off a newspaperman to a potentially explosive story in The Bonfire Of The Vanities (1990). James was featured in a number of movies by writer-director John Sayles like Lone Star (1996) and Sunshine State (2002). His last film credit was a 2006 comedy, Raising Flagg. James married twice: to Donna Lea Beach, from 1948 to 1950, with whom he had one child and to Laurie Harper, from 1951 until her death in 2015. The couple had five children. 
