RogerBW's Blog

Summer Lightning, P. G. Wodehouse 28 February 2024 - 1 comment

1929 comedy. All the couples are at odds, but more importantly, the Empress of Blandings is missing. US vt Fish Preferred.

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Robin and Marian 03 February 2024

1976 adventure, dir. Richard Lester, Sean Connery, Audrey Hepburn; IMDb / allmovie. After many years abroad with King Richard, Robin finally comes home to Marian, but life has moved on.

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Renfield 21 November 2023 - 2 comments

2023 comedy-horror, dir. Chris McKay, Nicholas Hoult, Awkwafina: IMDb / allmovie. What if Dracula's servitor tried to get out from under his thumb?

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Song of the Thin Man (1947) 16 November 2023

1947 mystery-comedy, dir. Edward Buzzell, William Powell, Myrna Loy: IMDb / allmovie. That devil music, it's no good!

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The Thin Man Goes Home (1944) 11 November 2023

1944 mystery-comedy, dir. Richard Thorpe, William Powell, Myrna Loy: IMDb / allmovie. There's nothing like going back to your home town.

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Shadow of the Thin Man (1941) 07 November 2023

1941 mystery-comedy, dir. W. S. van Dyke, William Powell, Myrna Loy: IMDb / allmovie. Can new screenwriters revive the series, without Dashiell Hammett's help?

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Tavern Rats, Matt Youngmark 03 November 2023 - 3 comments

2022 comic fantasy. Frinzil the sorcery student suddenly has to pay for several years of tuition. Obviously the way to do this is to go adventuring.

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Another Thin Man (1939) 31 October 2023

1939 mystery-comedy, dir. W. S. van Dyke, William Powell, Myrna Loy: IMDb / allmovie. Everyone wanted the old man dead.

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After the Thin Man (1936) 28 October 2023

1936 mystery-comedy, dir. W. S. van Dyke, William Powell, Myrna Loy: IMDb / allmovie. The husband has deserted his wife, and she wants to track him down.

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The Thin Man (1934) 26 October 2023

1934 mystery-comedy, dir. W. S. van Dyke, William Powell, Myrna Loy: IMDb / allmovie. Turns out life doesn't have to end at marriage.

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Toy Story 4 29 June 2023

2019 animated action/comedy, dir. Josh Cooley / John Lasseter, Tom Hanks, Tim Allen: IMDb / allmovie. What if God is just a series of children?

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Toy Story 3 24 June 2023 - 1 comment

2010 animated action/comedy, dir. Lee Unkrich, Tom Hanks, Tim Allen: IMDb / allmovie. Growing up is a thing now.

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Toy Story 2 20 June 2023 - 1 comment

1999 animated action/comedy, dir. Ash Brannon / John Lasseter / Lee Unkrich, Tom Hanks, Tim Allen: IMDb / allmovie. What is the righteous path to take in your life?

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Toy Story 13 June 2023

1995 animated action/comedy, dir. John Lasseter, Tom Hanks, Tim Allen: IMDb / allmovie. What if the toys could, like, come to life, man?

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Bullshot 27 May 2023

1983 action parody, dir. Dick Clement, Alan Shearman, Diz White: IMDb / allmovie. The dashing Captain Crummond (war hero, flying ace, Olympic athlete, racing driver, and part-time sleuth) defends the Empire against the machinations of the evil Count Otto von Bruno. Later vt Bullshot Crummond.

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The VelociPastor 11 May 2023

2018 horror/comedy, dir. Brendan Steere, Greg Cohan, Alyssa Kempinski: IMDb / allmovie. After his parents are killed, a priest travels to China, and finds he's gained the ability to transform into a dinosaur. With a prostitute as his moral guide, he sets out to fight for justice.

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Mad Heidi 03 May 2023

2022 action comedy, dir. Johannes Hartmann and Sandro Klopfstein, Alice Lucy: IMDb. They killed her parents and her boyfriend, and her grandfather, and now Heidi's striking back.

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The Seventh Bride, T Kingfisher 04 March 2023

2014 fantasy. Rhea the miller's daughter was expecting that she'd get married some day… but why has Lord Crevan made an offer for her at all, never mind right now?

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Know Your Rites, Andy Redsmith 20 February 2023

2019 comic fantasy, second and to date last of the Inspector Paris series. The invasion from fantasyland has been repelled, but things aren't quite back to normal.

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Casablanca 26 January 2023

1942 wartime romance and comedy, dir. Michael Curtiz, Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman: IMDb / allmovie. As refugees from Nazi-occupied Europe collect in Casablanca on the way to Lisbon and freedom, everybody comes to Rick's Café Americain.

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Blandings Castle and Elsewhere, P. G. Wodehouse 04 January 2023 - 3 comments

1935 comedy anthology, containing six stories of Lord Emsworth, and six others.

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Breaking the Lore, Andy Redsmith 30 December 2022

2019 comic fantasy, first of the Inspector Paris series. Paris is a hard-drinking Mancunian detective, but he's not prepared for a beautiful woman crucified in a suburban garden. Or for her to be fifteen centimetres tall.

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Nine Goblins, T Kingfisher 19 December 2022 - 3 comments

2013 fantasy novella. Goblins don't make very good soldiers, but there are lots of them. After an incident with a wizard, nine of them find themselves deep behind enemy lines. Fortunately, they run into a veterinarian…

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Heads You Lose, Lisa Lutz and David Hayward 16 December 2022

2011 comedic metafiction. Lacey and Paul are pot-growing siblings in rural California, who find a headless corpse on their property. "Lisa" and "David" are struggling authors who are alternating chapters of the mystery they're writing, but still have significant issues to work out from their former relationship…

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Rhythm of the Imperium, Jody Lynn Nye 31 August 2022

2015 humorous science fiction, third and to date last of its series. Lord Thomas Kinago, foppish distant cousin of the Emperor, is travelling to watch the enigmatic alien Zang bonsai a star system. Meanwhile the rocky Kail may be trying to open diplomatic relations with the Imperium.

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Dogma 16 July 2022

1999 religious comedy, dir. Kevin Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Ben Affleck: IMDb / allmovie. A brief revival of the plenary indulgence gives two banished angels the chance to get back into heaven… but that might be really quite a bad thing.

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The Big Lebowski (1998) 29 June 2022

1998 crime/comedy, dir. Joel and Ethan Coen, Jeff Bridges; IMDb / allmovie. That rug really tied the room together.

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Leave It to Psmith, P. G. Wodehouse 04 April 2022

1923 comedy. Psmith finds himself at Blandings, impersonating a squalid but trendy Canadian poet.

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Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) 19 January 2022

1987 war, dir. Barry Levinson, Robin Williams: IMDb / allmovie. A laugh a minute in good old Vietnam.

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Local Hero 14 November 2021

1983 drama/comedy, dir. Bill Forsyth, Peter Riegert, Denis Lawson; IMDb / allmovie. Young privileged man travels from Houston to Charming Rural Land, and learns an Important Lesson about Life.

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Star Trek Lower Decks season 2 26 October 2021

2021 science fiction comedy, 10 episodes. The Cerritos continues to do all of Starfleet's trivial and boring jobs (and they continue to be surprisingly dangerous).

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Star Trek Lower Decks season 1 19 October 2021

2020 science fiction comedy, 10 episodes. On the USS Cerritos, the bridge crew think they're the stars of the show, but we follow the ensigns as they go about their daily grind (plus adventure).

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End of Empires, Toby Frost 26 June 2021

2014 humorous science fiction, fifth in the Isambard Smith series. The Lemming men are invading the British Space Empire, and must be stopped!

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The Lego Movie 2 28 December 2020

2019, dir. Mike Mitchell/Trisha Gum, Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks: IMDb / allmovie

The peace of Brickville is shattered by invaders from Duplo.

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Ghostbusters (2016) 24 December 2020 - 7 comments

2016 action comedy, dir. Paul Feig, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon: IMDb / allmovie.

Two paranormal enthusiasts, a nuclear engineer and a subway worker band together to save New York from paranormal threat.

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A Game of Battleships, Toby Frost 22 December 2020

2013 humorous science fiction, fourth in the Isambard Smith series. Smith and his crew take on an unbeatable prototype warship, protect a peace conference, invade a planet of religious fanatics, and visit Europe.

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The Spy Who Dumped Me 17 December 2020

2018 action comedy, dir. Susanna Fogel, Mila Kunis, Kate McKinnon: IMDb / allmovie.

Drew dumped Audrey by text message a few days ago… then two men claiming to be from the CIA interrogate her… then Drew comes in suddenly through her window. Then he gets shot by someone her roommate Morgan picked up the night before…

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Something Fresh, P. G. Wodehouse 13 October 2020

1915 comedy. For reasons too silly to go into, several of the guests at Blandings are out to steal a rare scarab… US vt Something New (with slight alterations).

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Fortunes of the Imperium, Jody Lynn Nye 30 September 2020

2014 humorous science fiction, second of its series. Lord Thomas Kinago, professional fop, is sent on another mission for his cousin the Emperor: this time a neighbouring power, defeated in the big war a few years back, is putting unreasonable restrictions on trade, not to mention arresting a whole host of merchants as smugglers.

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Robin Hood (1973) 17 August 2020 - 1 comment

1973 animated children's comedy, dir. Wolfgang Reitherman; IMDb / allmovie. They sing and dance in the forest…

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The Adventures of Robin Hood 11 August 2020

1938 adventure, dir. Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland; IMDb / allmovie. Prince John oppresses the Saxons; a Saxon lord fights back.

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Douglas Fairbanks in Robin Hood 07 August 2020

1922 adventure, dir. Allen Dwan, Douglas Fairbanks, Wallace Beery; IMDb / allmovie. The Earl of Huntingdon goes off to the Crusades with King Richard…

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In Your Dreams, Tom Holt 28 June 2020 - 2 comments

2004 comic fantasy, second in the J. W. Wells series. Paul Carpenter continues to blunder his way through magical hazards.

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Wrath of the Lemming Men, Toby Frost 29 May 2020 - 2 comments

2009 humorous science fiction, third in the Isambard Smith series. The insectoid Ghast have enlisted the lemming-people of Yull as allies in their war against the British Space Empire. Are Isambard Smith and his motley crew really the only people who can save the day?

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Angstrom Season 1 15 April 2020

2018 comedy detective audio, four half-hour episodes. Knut Angstrom is a brooding Swedish detective in the Nyarlslund Peninsula.

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Shaun the Sheep: The Movie 15 February 2020

2015 animation, dir. Mark Burton, Richard Starzak; IMDb / allmovie.

When the sheep get bored with the hard work of life on the farm, they lock the farmer in a caravan for a day off. Chaos ensues.

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The Balloon Man, Charlotte MacLeod 22 January 2020 - 2 comments

1998 cozy American detective fiction; twelfth and last of MacLeod's novels of Boston Brahmin Sarah Kelling and art investigator Max Bittersohn. A family wedding is complicated by the return of jewels long thought lost, an unexpected balloon landing… and a dead body.

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Exit the Milkman, Charlotte MacLeod 10 January 2020

1996 comic mystery; tenth and last of MacLeod's novels of Professor Peter Shandy. Peter's neighbour Jim spends most of his evenings at Fraternal Brotherhood meetings to avoid his horrible wife Mirelle; but he doesn't come back, and soon murder is afoot.

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The Odd Job, Charlotte MacLeod 12 December 2019

1995 cozy American detective fiction; eleventh of MacLeod's novels of Boston Brahmin Sarah Kelling and art investigator Max Bittersohn. The administrator of the Wilkins Museum dies suddenly, and Sarah turns out to be named as her executrix.

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Something in the Water, Charlotte MacLeod 25 November 2019

1994 comic mystery; ninth of MacLeod's novels of Professor Peter Shandy. Shandy is visiting a grower of remarkable lupines [sic, apparently American usage] when a fellow guest at the inn where he's staying collapses dead over the chicken pot pie.

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The Grub-and-Stakers House a Haunt, Charlotte MacLeod 05 November 2019

1993, cosy American detective fiction; fifth and last of MacLeod's novels (as "Alisa Craig") of Dittany Henbit and the Lobelia Falls Grub-and-Stakers Gardening & Roving Club. The ghost of a nineteenth-century mule-skinner turns up in town, and wants his bones found and properly buried… but doesn't much mind what happens to the chest of gold that should be near them.

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Night Terrace season 2 16 October 2019

2019 Australian science fiction comedy audio drama in eight parts, by John Richards. Dr Anastasia Black, Eddie Jones and Sue Denholm continue to travel through time and space in a suburban house, fixing problems and getting into trouble.

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The Wrong Rite, Charlotte MacLeod 12 October 2019

1992 cosy American detective fiction; fifth and last of MacLeod's novels (as "Alisa Craig") of Madoc and Janet Rhys. They've gone to Wales to help celebrate Madoc's great-uncle's 90th birthday, but soon enough there's a dead body to be dealt with.

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The Resurrection Man, Charlotte MacLeod 19 September 2019

1992 cozy American detective fiction; tenth of MacLeod's novels of Boston Brahmin Sarah Kelling and art investigator Max Bittersohn. An old friend turns up working in an atelier styled after a Renaissance guild, restoring damaged art; but quite a lot of it seems to get stolen shortly after it's been returned to the client…

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An Owl Too Many, Charlotte MacLeod 25 August 2019

1991 comic mystery; eighth of MacLeod's novels of Professor Peter Shandy. During the annual owl-counting survey, a newcomer to the town is distracted by what seems to be an out-of-place snowy owl… and is promptly hauled into a tree and stabbed to death.

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The Good Place season 3 29 July 2019

2018-2019 fantasy comedy, 13 episodes. The afterlife's experiments with ethics and moral philosophy continue.

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Whiskey Cavalier season 1 25 July 2019

2019 action comedy drama, 13 episodes. A motley group of rough men (and women) run around saving the world while trying to get in touch with their feelings.

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Fighting With My Family 02 July 2019

2019 drama/comedy, dir. Stephen Merchant, Florence Pugh, Jack Lowden; IMDb / allmovie. Siblings Raya and Zak Knight come from a wrestling family in Norfolk, but is that going to be enough to get them to the top?

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Night Terrace 12 June 2019

2019 Australian science fiction comedy audio drama in eight parts, by John Richards. Dr Anastasia Black used to save the universe every week, but now she's enjoying a comfortable retirement. Until Eddie Jones comes to her door to sell her a new electricity contract…

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Chastity Bites 16 May 2019

2013 horror/comedy, dir. John V. Knowles, Allison Scagliotti, Francia Raisa: IMDb / allmovie. Leah is a blue-state girl in a red-state town, trying to get into a good college by breaking a really big story in the school paper. But when a new "abstinence educator" comes to town it may be a bigger story than she can handle.

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Mystery Science Theater 3000 season 12 14 May 2019 - 2 comments

The revived show continues, with a shorter six-episode season.

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Spy 07 May 2019

2015 action comedy, dir. Paul Feig, Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham; IMDb / allmovie. In a James Bond-style world, when all the CIA's field agents are compromised, it's up to an analyst to go undercover and look for a missing nuclear weapon.

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Barely Lethal 30 April 2019

2015 action comedy, dir. Kyle Newman, Hailee Steinfeld, Dove Cameron: IMDb / allmovie. Number 83 grew up in a secret government training school for assassins, with no emotional connection to anyone. But when she's left behind on a mission, she decides to find what she's never had: a normal childhood. Pity that childhood ideal is built on 1990s high school comedies…

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Destination Wedding 19 April 2019

2018 romantic comedy, dir. Victor Levin, Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder: IMDb / allmovie. Frank and Lindsay have each been invited to San Luis Obispo for the flashy wedding of someone they don't much like. She's the groom's ex; he's his half-brother; they're both bitter people. Naturally, they meet.

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Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates 17 April 2019

2016 comedy with romantic elements, dir. Jake Szymanski, Zac Efron, Adam DeVine, Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza: IMDb / allmovie. Manchild brothers Mike and Dave are told that they can't come to their sister's wedding unless they bring dates (to calm them down and stop them hitting on other women). Not knowing any women, they advertise. Alice and Tatiana, who are just as messed up but in different ways, decide that a free trip to Hawaii is worth a few days of good behaviour…

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Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyousoukyoku 07 April 2019

2018 light novel adaptation in 12 episodes: AniDB, vt "Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody". After a thirty-hour stint working on two separate computer games, contract programmer Satou sleeps under his desk and wakes up in a fantasy world.

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Queen Lucia, E. F. Benson 03 April 2019

1920 comedy, first of the series. Mrs Lucas, "Lucia" to all, is the social arbiter of the village of Riseholme – in spite of the best efforts of her subjects.

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Le grand méchant renard et autres contes 29 March 2019

2017 French animation, dir. Patrick Imbert, Benjamin Renner; IMDb / allmovie. vt The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales

The countryside is not as peaceful a place as one might expect, as comedic bunglers try to do the right thing and are appropriately punished for it.

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Ralph Breaks the Internet 21 January 2019

2018 sequel to Wreck-It Ralph, dir. Phil Johnston and Rich Moore; IMDb / allmovie.

After the events of the first film, all seems to be well in the secret life of the arcade; but when part of Vanellope's game cabinet gets broken, the only way to replace it is to venture onto the Internet. Also marketed as Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2.

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Wreck-It Ralph 19 January 2019

2012, dir. Phil Johnston and Rich Moore; IMDb / allmovie. Ralph is the villain in a Donkey Kong-like arcade game, Fix-It Felix Jr. – and, like most video game characters in this world, a thinking person too. He's tired of being the bad guy, and sets out to prove that he can be good.

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Galaxy Quest 16 December 2018

1999 science fiction comedy, dir. Dean Parisot, Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver; IMDb / allmovie. Galaxy Quest was a big SF show in the early 1980s, but by the present day the cast are reduced to convention appearances and store openings. Then some particularly odd fans turn out to be rather more into the show than anyone expected… Spoilers.

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Psmith, Journalist, P. G. Wodehouse 04 December 2018

1915 comic novel, compilation from magazine publication in 1909-1910. Bored in New York, Psmith gets involved with a local newspaper, turning it from a provider of pap into a crusader.

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The Guard 15 November 2018 - 5 comments

2011 crime drama/comedy, dir. John Michael McDonagh, Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle; IMDb / allmovie. On the rural Connemara coast, Sergeant Gerry Boyle has no time for people who don't want to let him do things his own way, but he still gets the policing done. Now, with the possibility of a huge cargo of cocaine coming in, there's an FBI agent in town…

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Practical Demonkeeping, Christopher Moore 27 September 2018 - 1 comment

1992 comic fantasy, first of the Pine Cove series. Travis has been living with the demon Catch for nearly ninety years – the immortality and invulnerability aren't bad, but the murders are getting to him. He's finally tracked down a way of ending the pact, but it won't be easy.

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Case for Three Detectives, Leo Bruce 12 August 2018

1936 mystery parody, first of the novels of Sergeant Beef. When Dr Thurston's wife is murdered during a weekend party, it looks like a classic locked room mystery. Three great detectives arrive, and try to solve the conundrum in their own ways. But it's up to the plodding police sergeant to save the day.

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Top Gear season 2.25 28 June 2018 - 2 comments

2018 motoring show, 6 episodes. The inevitable plunge into comedy starts here.

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The Curse of the Giant Hogweed, Charlotte MacLeod 31 March 2018

1985 fantasy, fifth of MacLeod's novels of Professor Peter Shandy. Shandy and two colleagues are in Wales to look into a hogweed infestation, but soon find themselves in a fantastical realm.

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The Grand Tour season 2 28 March 2018

The Grand Tour: 2017-2018, 11 episodes. Clarkson, May and Hammond continue to pretend to make a motoring programme.

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The Orville season 1 17 March 2018 - 1 comment

2017-2018 science fiction comedy, 12 episodes. Captain Ed Mercer of the Planetary Union hit a rough career patch after his divorce, but now has command of an exploratory ship. But his ex-wife will be his new first officer.

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The Good Place season 2 27 February 2018

2017 fantasy comedy, 13 episodes. Eleanor is still in the afterlife, but things have got much more complicated.

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Mystery Man, Colin Bateman 04 December 2017

2009 comedic mystery, first in its series. The nameless narrator runs No Alibis, a mystery bookshop in Belfast. But when the private detective agency next door suddenly closes down, some of its customers start coming to him instead.

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Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o 2 19 November 2017

2017 ongoing comedic fantasy manga adaptation in 10 episodes: Anidb, vt "Konosuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World!". Kazuma continues to live in an MMORPG world.

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Psmith in the City, P. G. Wodehouse 13 October 2017

1910 comic novel, compilation from magazine publication in 1908-1909. Mike and Psmith end up toiling in the New Asiatic Bank. This suits neither of them.

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Mystery Science Theater 3000 season 11 05 October 2017

After an eighteen-year gap, bad film is mocked once more.

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Top Gear season 2.24 29 September 2017 - 1 comment

2017 motoring show, 7 episodes. Much to everyone's surprise, it's actually trying to be a car show again.

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The Good Place season 1 10 August 2017

2016 fantasy comedy, 14 episodes. Eleanor dies, and goes to the afterlife. Not Heaven, exactly, but… The Good Place. Only problem is, she's pretty sure she's not meant to be there, but admitting it would surely make things worse.

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Jam, Yahtzee Croshaw 02 August 2017

2012 horror comedy. Travis wakes up one morning to find that Brisbane has been flooded with carnivorous strawberry jam.

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Dangerous Davies: The Last Detective, Leslie Thomas 06 May 2017

1976 comedic detective fiction; first of Thomas's novels of "Dangerous" Davies, barely-competent and perenially unlucky detective constable in Willesden. Set to look for a local criminal who might have returned to the area, Davies turns this into an investigation of a twenty-five-year-old disappearance.

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Dagashi Kashi 10 April 2017

2016 contemporary comedy, 12 episodes, manga adaptation: AniDB. Kokonotsu works at his father's old-fashioned sweet shop, but wants to draw manga. A strange girl appears to try to recruit his father, but first she needs to persuade Kokonotsu to take over the shop.

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Angie Tribeca, season 2 30 March 2017

2016 police parody, 10 episodes. Detective Angie Tribeca solves crimes in the RHCU, the Really Heinous Crimes Unit.

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Top Gear season 2.23 and The Grand Tour season 1 02 March 2017

Top Gear: 2015, 6 episodes; The Grand Tour: 2015-2016, 13 episodes. In both cases, these are comedy shows lightly disguised as motoring programmes.

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Sakamoto Desu ga 01 March 2017

2016 contemporary comedy, 12 episodes, manga adaptation: AniDB, vt "Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto". Sakamoto is the coolest student in the high school, perfect at everything.

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Mike, P. G. Wodehouse 24 January 2017

1909 school stories, compilation from magazine publication in 1907-1908: Mike Jackson, youngest of five cricketing brothers, goes first to Wrykin and then to Sedleigh. Also republished in separate parts later, as Mike at Wrykin and Mike and Psmith; the latter also as Enter Psmith.

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Must Love Board Games 24 December 2016 - 1 comment

2016 short romantic comedy, dir. Travis Hedges Williams, Kacie Barnes, Tyler Grezaffi: IMDb

When Quinn meets David, she has to decide whether he is a worthy suitor: she knows the rules, just as she knows the rules of her favourite games. But he doesn't seem to be following them.

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God Emperor of Didcot, Toby Frost 17 December 2016 - 2 comments

2008 humorous science fiction, second in the series. Captain Isambard Smith of the British Empire in space is sent to the Didcot system, where a revolutionary movement threatens the Empire's supply of tea.

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Ojisan to Marshmallow 08 December 2016

2016 contemporary comedy, 12 short episodes: AniDB, vt "Middle-Aged Man and Marshmallow". Hige is an overweight middle-aged man working at Web Related Company (sic); he loves marshmallows. Several of the office ladies are in love with him, for no obvious reason.

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Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o 15 November 2016

2016 comedic fantasy manga adaptation in 10 episodes: Anidb, vt "Konosuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World!". Kazuma the shut-in dies in a traffic accident, but a goddess allows him to return to life in another world.

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Moonbeam City 13 September 2016

2015 science fiction comedy, 10 episodes. In a corrupt neon future, the Moonbeam City Police Department tries to keep the peace. More or less.

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Electra Woman & Dyna Girl 26 July 2016

2016 superhero comedy (miniseries re-presented as film), dir. Chris Marrs Piliero, Grace Helbig, Hannah Hart: IMDb

Low-level superheroes Electra Woman and Dyna Girl move to Los Angeles to make the big time. But can they be true to themselves?

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Angie Tribeca, season 1 18 July 2016

2016 police parody, 10 episodes. Detective Angie Tribeca solves crimes in the RHCU, the Really Heinous Crimes Unit.

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Community, season 6 17 June 2016

2015 comedy, 13 episodes; most of the same team of misfits continue to try to keep their community college going.

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Space Captain Smith, Toby Frost 31 May 2016 - 1 comment

2008 humorous science fiction; first in its series. In the 25th Century the British Empire will soon be fighting the insectoid Ghast; but Captain Isambard Smith, square-jawed, courageous, and perhaps a bit dim, is called on to take an elderly refitted freighter on a courier mission.

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Jitsu wa Watashi wa 28 March 2016

2015 modern humour, shounen manga adaptation in 13 episodes: AniDB, vt "My Monster Secret". Kuromine "Leaky Bucket" Asahi is unable to keep a secret; when he goes to confess his love to the girl of his dreams, she turns out to be a vampire. But she'll be forced to leave school if the secret gets out…

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Murder in the Museum of Man, Alfred Alcorn 06 March 2016

1997 humorous detective fiction; first of Alcorn's novels of Norman de Ratour, Recording Secretary at the Museum of Man, an anthropological museum somewhere in New England. Dean Fessing goes missing, and most of him turns up expertly cooked. That inevitably starts rumours of cannibalism, but there may be fire to go with this smoke…

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Ore Monogatari 03 March 2016

2015 romantic comedy, shoujo manga adaptation in 24 episodes: AniDB, vt "My Love Story". Gōda Takeo is a huge guy, clueless but with a good heart; when he saves Yamato Rinko from a groper on the train, they fall in love.

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The Wallet of Kai Lung, Ernest Bramah 02 March 2016 - 1 comment

1900 collection of funny and fantastic stories of Imperial China.

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Monster Musume no Iru Nichijou 21 February 2016

2015 modern comedic fantasy, manga adaptation in 12 episodes: AniDB, vt "Everyday Life with Monster Girls". Various fantastic species suddenly exist, and some of them live with host families in Japan.

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Nisekoi 2 31 January 2016

2015, comedy, manga adaptation, 12 episodes: AniDB.

Continuation of the high school harem comedy. Hero is a yakuza heir, who to stop a gang fight has to pretend to be going out with tsundere heroine #1 (rival yakuza heiress), but really wants to be involved with kind sweet ordinary heroine #2.

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Despicable Me 2 23 December 2015

2013, dir. Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud; IMDb / allmovie

The former supervillain Gru is trying to be a good father. But supervillainous schemes are still afoot.

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Danna ga Nani o Itteiruka Wakaranai Ken series 2 13 December 2015

2015, 13 episodes: AniDB.

Also known as I Can't Understand What My Husband Is Saying. Continuation of the slice of life comedy dealing with the daily routine of a busy office lady and her otaku husband.

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View from the Imperium, Jody Lynn Nye 02 November 2015 - 2 comments

2011 humorous science fiction. Lord Thomas Kinago, foppish distant cousin of the Emperor and son of the First Space Lord, is sent on his obligatory short tour of military service. Meanwhile, a cluster of worlds on the edge of the Imperium is being taken over…

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Despicable Me 30 August 2015 - 1 comment

2010, dir. Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud; IMDb / allmovie

The supervillain Gru finds that he needs three little girls for his latest nefarious scheme: to steal the Moon. But he's not as much of a hard case as he thinks he is.

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Kung Fury 18 August 2015 - 1 comment

2015 action comedy, dir. and starring David Sandberg: IMDb / allmovie

The toughest martial arts cop in Miami goes back in time to kill kung fu Hitler.

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Don't Point That Thing At Me, Kyril Bonfiglioli 17 August 2015

1972 comedy, first in the Mortdecai Trilogy. Charlie Mortdecai is a cheerfully corrupt, vaguely aristocratic and thoroughly cowardly art dealer, who finds himself called on to act as an unwilling assassin.

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Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata 29 June 2015

2015, 13 episodes: AniDB

Parody of contemporary slice-of-life and romance. Aki Tomoya tries to create a computer game (in one of the standard Japanese models, with good art and multiple-choice gameplay) with the assistance of various schoolmates.

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What We Do in the Shadows 17 May 2015

2014 comedy, dir. and starring Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi: IMDb / allmovie

Four vampires share a flat in modern New Zealand. Comedy happens.

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Good Enough for Nelson, John Winton 11 April 2015

1977; ninth of Winton's novels. The Artful Bodger (Commander R. B. Badger, RN) is now in charge of the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth.

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Laggies 10 April 2015

2014, dir. Lynn Shelton, Keira Knightley, Chloë Grace Moretz; IMDb / allmovie

Megan is approaching thirty, but her career and personality more or less went on hold when she left high school ten years ago. One night, as she's fleeing from an unwanted marriage proposal and other complications, some high-school kids ask her to buy them beer, and she gets on with Annika better than with her own peers. Things move on from there. vt Say When in the UK and Ireland.

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Four Lions 20 March 2015 - 1 comment

2010, dir. Chris Morris, Riz Ahmed, Kayvan Novak; IMDb / allmovie

Four Muslim men from Sheffield aspire to be suicide bombers. Black comedy ensues.

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Penguins of Madagascar 10 March 2015 - 1 comment

2014, dir. Eric Darnell and Simon J. Smith; IMDb / allmovie

In this spin-off from the Madagascar series, four penguin secret agents attempt to foil the plot of the sinister Dr Octavius Brine. Or at least to find Cheesy Dibbles to eat.

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Denki-Gai no Honya-San 06 March 2015

2014, 12 episodes: AniDB; also known as "Electric Town Bookstore".

Workplace sitcom based in a manga/DVD/game/etc. shop, poking fun at the fandom and conventions of the genre.

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Amagi Brilliant Park 10 February 2015

2014, 13 episodes: AniDB.

High school boy is asked to be the acting manager of a failing amusement park populated by fantastic creatures.

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Danna ga Nani o Itteiruka Wakaranai Ken 30 January 2015

2014, 13 episodes: AniDB Also known as I Can't Understand What My Husband Is Saying. Slice of life comedy dealing with the daily routine of a busy office lady and her otaku husband.

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The Portable Door, Tom Holt 26 January 2015 - 2 comments

2003 comic fantasy. Paul Carpenter applies for a job as a "junior clerk" at J. W. Wells, not knowing just what it is that they do; but it seems to be something really quite strange. He'd chuck it in if he hadn't fallen for his fellow junior clerk…

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The Good Soldier Schweik, Jaroslav Hasek 12 November 2014

After the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the Austro-Hungarian Empire goes to war. Josef Švejk, a dealer in stolen dogs, does his best to get by.

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Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun 24 October 2014

2014, 12 episodes: AniDB; also known as Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun.

Parody series about young girls' (shōjo) manga. Chiyo has a crush on fellow high school student Nozaki, but through comical misunderstanding discovers he's a manga writer and artist – but this has to be kept a secret from the rest of the school.

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Seeking a Friend for the End of the World 14 October 2014

2012, dir. Lorene Scafaria, Steve Carell, Keira Knightley: IMDb / allmovie

The world will be hit by an asteroid in three weeks, and there's nothing more that can be done about it. Dodge and his neighbour Penny set out to get him to his high school sweetheart, and her to her family in England.

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Space Dandy 21 September 2014

2014, 13 episodes: AniDB

A nostalgically strange series about the dandiest man in space.

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Mangaka-san to Assistant-san to 11 September 2014

2014, 12 episodes: AniDB

Situation comedy based on a manga artist, his assistant, and various other workmates.

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The Burglar Who Studied Spinoza, Lawrence Block 04 September 2014 - 1 comment

Fourth mystery book about Bernard Rhodenbarr, professional burglar in 1970s New York.

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Gladly Oddly, Paul Jennings 23 August 2014

Sixth (though the order doesn't really matter) of the collections of Paul Jennings' short humorous pieces, mostly from The Observer, published in 1958.

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Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou 18 August 2014

2014, 12 episodes: AniDB; also known as The Kawai Complex Guide to Manners and Hostel Behavior.

Romantic comedy; high school boy lives in boarding-house with a variety of Characters, one of whom is a cute female bookworm.

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The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling, Lawrence Block 09 August 2014

Bernard Rhodenbarr, the closest New York in the 1970s can get to a gentleman burglar, is back for his third mystery book appearance. This is the one where the formula changes a bit.

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Fuuun Ishi Dai Shogun 05 August 2014

2014, 12 episodes: AniDB

In the late Edo period, Perry's black ships were fought off by giant mystical mecha. Twenty years later in Nagasaki, a young yakuza boss has just unified the town under his rule by beating up everyone who objected. But he's got bigger things on the way...

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The Burglar in the Closet, Lawrence Block 10 July 2014

Bernard Rhodenbarr, the closest New York in the 1970s can get to a gentleman burglar, is back for his second book appearance, and the formula sets in: while our hero the burglar is hiding from his victim who's come home unexpectedly, she gets murdered.

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Burglars Can't Be Choosers, Lawrence Block 03 July 2014

First in Block's slightly less-well-known series. Bernard Rhodenbarr is a burglar, and a good one. It's bad enough when the cops walk into the apartment where he's doing his latest job. But then one of them discovers a recently-dead body nearby.

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The Lego Movie 18 June 2014 - 1 comment

2014, dir. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks: IMDb / allmovie

In a world where… one man must… and it's all made of Lego.

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Private Angelo, Eric Linklater 11 June 2014

In a tale that begins with the Italian armistice of 1943, the reluctant soldier Angelo bounces around war-torn Italy, serially drafted into one army after another. He is a very poor soldier. If only he had the dono di coraggio.

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Tamara Drewe 15 May 2014

2010, dir. Stephen Frears, Gemma Arterton, Luke Evans: IMDb / allmovie

Tamara Drewe, formerly the ugly duckling and now a glamorous journalist, returns to the village where she grew up… and everything is upended.

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Never Go to Sea, John Winton 27 March 2014

Fourth of Winton's novels and in the loosely-connected series. The Artful Bodger (Commander R. B. Badger, RN) takes over public relations for the Royal Navy, and gets involved in running a horse in the Derby.

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Three Men in a Boat, Jerome K. Jerome 12 February 2014 - 2 comments

A classic, of course. But one I hadn't read until now.

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Notorious Nineteen, Janet Evanovich 14 January 2014

As one can see from the title, this is the nineteenth full novel in Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. And, well, it feels like a nineteenth novel: it's tired.

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