Wednesday - 2008-0423-2200 - Rain - London Street; TV Programs - "Wire in the Blood"; TV Programs - "Top Gear"; TV Programs - "Top Gear" -"The Stig"; TV Programs - "Top Gear" - Ascari A10; TV Programs - "Top Gear" - James May; TV Programs - "Doctor Who" / "The Sarah Jane Adventures"; TV Programs - "Blake's 7"

Rain - London Street Larger Image

Another night time rain image from London pictures and travel photography galleries by uk photographer Christopher Holt. A perplexing shot. I can figure out there's a street leading to an under pass. Could the structure on the right be a parking garage?. I love the port hole windows and the massive column to their left.

I wish folks would give some details with their photos.

I've started watching BBC America - "Wire in the Blood" on Sunday evenings. It's good to see Robson Green again, this time as .Dr. Tony Hill, clinical psychologist. I first encounter him as D.I. Dave Creegan on "Touching Evil" about ten years ago. He is a fascinating performer. For more info, see Robson Green :: The Web Site

Although BBC America - "Top Gear" had been on Saturday afternoons, and it still is, it now originates on Monday evening. It's any and everything you might want to know about cars. It can be hysterical, very informative, or deathly serious. It is hosted by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.

Richard Hammond, was involved in an almost fatal accident in September, 2006. See "Top Gear star has '50-50' chance of surviving, admits Clarkson". Richard, who someone wrote "has soap opera looks, fortunately survived.

In an article "Lego saved my life after jet-car crash, says Top Gear man", Hammond indicated that ". “Lego saved my life,” he said. “It’s really good therapy for a brain injury. I was a Lego fiend when I was eight and, suddenly, it was all I wanted to do again." In another article that I can not find, he mentions how helpful they were in re-establishing spatial relationships.

Some concerned has been voiced about the lack of training the hosts have in handling some very complex machines. On a recent program, Series 10 - Episode 8, Richard attempted driving a Formula One car, and indicated it was a scary event. Totally unlike what he was expecting.

The show features a mysterious figure, always seen in racing gear with a closed helmet, called "The Stig" "He exists for one reason alone: To wring every last drop of performance out of any car he drives, giving us a definitive lap time around our demanding test track." Actually, his identity is a closely-guarded secret that has led to much conjecturing and has elevated him to cult status.

A list of the cars tested can be found at Top Gear - Power Laps. I'm fascinated by the cars because I've never heard of most of them. The fastest car is the Ascari A10. As the photos show, it is a magnificent-looking vehicle. I've never been much into cars, but if I were disgustingly wealthy, I would most definitely want one of these. Zero to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds!!!

Wikipedia also offers some more info at Ascari A10 and Ascari Cars. Note Jeremy Clarkson's comment: "All car makers should be forced, by law, to drive an A10 so they can see what they’re aiming for." Also notice the line: "The company plans to hand-assemble 50 A10s at its Banbury, England assembly plant, at a price of approximately £350,000 (US$695,000) each."

As with all things related to "Top Gear," debates rage constantly. In this case the question is "Is James May gay?" This may have been started by a comment by Jeremy Clarkson on a South African press conference in which in the closing moments, a reporter asks, "Where's Andrew?" Jeremy quickly corrected her and said "James." He then went on to say. "It's his wedding this week (turning to Richard), isn't it? He marrying his boyfriend. " Although Jeremy is known for his quips, this sounded fairly genuine.

Of course, if you read any of the comments at site related to "Top Gear," there considerable discussion of a girlfriend.

On last week's program, Series 10 - Episode 9, the gang participates in the Britcar 24-hour endurance race at Silverstone. And oddly enough, I noticed, more than once, what appeared to be a rainbow flag on James' helmet. In the outside case that it was a logo or some type, it was strange that it did not appear on the other's helmets.

The fourth season of Doctor Who started last week. But instead of being on BBC in America, it popped up on the SciFi network. And it is preceded by the "The Sarah Jane Adventures" featuring the character Sarah Jane Smith, a companion of the Third and Fourth incarnations of Doctor Who from the Doctor's original series. This is a very pleasant surprise since I know very little about the show.

It also looks like episodes of seasons 2 and 3 will be repeated on BBC America.

Another very welcome TV surprise was to learn this afternoon that Blake's 7 set to wobble its way back to television screens. Also see BBC News - Blake's 7 poised for Sky comeback.

"Doctor Who" and "Blake's 7" have a strange relationship in the US. At one point, BBC had made an agreement with public broadcasting stations to give them exclusive access to "Doctor Who." (In fact that's where it first appeared here with the fourth Doctor, Tom Baker, regarded by many in American's as the quintessential Doctor. No doubt, because he was the first one they saw. Also because Tom Baker is a very powerful, commanding performer with a theatrical delivery. And he played the Doctor the longest.)

However, the price of the programs accelerated to a figure outside the range of many public broadcasters, whose budgets are normally tight to begin with. But, "Blake's 7" was not nearly as expensive, so there was an almost wholesale dropping of "Doctor Who" and the acquisition of "Blake's 7."

(In Wednesday - 2008-0423-2200 / Out - 2008-0424-2300) This entry was written in bits and pieces in about ten different settings.

Pax! Erin go braugh! Je accuse...