Dave T

I'm not a fan of staging internationals in 3rd countries without a real reason to do so. Would love to have seen Scotland playing in Scotland again.

I liked this post before I got to the last line by the way!

Well I did highlight that the RFL wanted to use the Glasgow stadium which fell through as it needed emergency repairs.

It was over 1400 not 1800 and that was v France 7 years ago. Almost 1200 the year later. These crowds are not at that level because of the players (although I'm not saying it isn't an issue for some), but rather they are low because Scotland RL doesn't have a presence.

I also know people in Scotland who like RL. They do go and watch their team when they can, and are aware of the context and appreciate the efforts. You may not feel like that but don't judge others by your opinions. The crowds for Scotland games hold up pretty well considering the game is almost non-existent there.

No, this isn't true. The crowd peaked at around 1800 at Gala and people were far more respectful than you are of their efforts. They don't get home games in the 4N. It was an RFL tournament and they choose where the games are. It is also well documented that Glasgow was lined up but fell through due to stadium issues.

Spot on. Its a bit odd to suggest that a Tongan RL player born in Sydney representing his grandparents birthplace is any different to a Scotland RL player born in Dewsbury representing his grandparents birthplace. And we have seen players play for the likes of Samoa and then jump ship to the Kiwis before, there is no difference.

They don't play home games in England. I've watched Scotland play in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Galashiels, plus the 9s in Cumbernauld. Now, where do Tonga and Samoa play their home games?

I went through the list of players on the Tonga RL wiki. Well, I stopped after clicking 33 players and all but one were born in Aus or NZ.

Are you as dismissive about the Pacific teams?

Lucas is a very good character comedian, although much of his Little Britain stuff is tainted by losing subtlety and just becoming racist, and the fact that it was all too in your face and the catchphrases became mainstream.

Me neither. I don't think there is anything illegal with it. Unsavoury maybe, not illegal.

Yes, that is the reason. UKTV have confirmed it'll probably take a couple of days to work a new warning up front and then it'll be back.

Indeed. Whether a statue or a TV program is there tomorrow is not history.

The BBC as a commercial body can just decide that though.

Yes, this is the answer. I'm not a fan of censorship of TV/Movies of any kind (legal activity) I think as long as the warnings and context are there anything is fair game. And tbf, that is what HBO Max will be doing. On the likes of Little Britain, I think the BBC have every right to disown it, which is in effect what they have done by pulling it from all platforms. There are loads of programs that we don't show now, see "it was alright in the 70's" for example. But there may be a place for it with all the BBC branding removed and sold onto a private distributor.

Spoilers. I still think she was wrong, but it was in character, she doesn't see the bigger picture, the wars come and go and you can't trade in that strategic asset for an isolated flash point, Saul was right. But that's what made it work and feel right, she is flawed and flies off the handle, but will ultimately try and do things for the right reasons. I thought they did it very well, the end scenes were under-stated and nicely done. Funnily enough I'd also have been OK with a finish that saw her kill Saul and go bad. She has always been on the verge of it anyway, and it would have been a nice mirroring of the original season with Brodie. But it was very well done, and for a long running show to finish so well it was great!

Just finished Homeland. Absolutely loved this last series. Didn't get too silly, stuck with a main plot right through, and was more patient and intelligent than a few of the seasons. Thought it was an excellent last series and finished off in an excellent way, shocks, twists but not trying too hard. I'll miss this show, a couple of shonky seasons, but overall very enjoyable. Any recommendations for similar shows? Just started Looming Tower and enjoyed the pilot.

Finally got round to watching Joker the other night. Had been looking forward to it for a long time. Nicely made, but jeez it was boring. Really basic execution of hard hitting themes and from everything I'd read I was expecting it to be done well. It wasn't. Now I've watched it and gone back and read about it, I see it was slated in a lot of places and it seems to benefit from the comicbook fan base boosting it to 8.5 on imdb.

I don't think it's meant to be taken seriously is it? I wouldn't go as far to call it a black comedy but it is certainly packed with dark humour.

It's how certain I am.

I preferred the first season's approach....

I preferred the first season's approach....

Yes, I know that they have asked people not to turn up and do 'unofficial' parkruns along the same route at 9am (or 9.30am) as they fear it may damage their reputation and good standing with the public. I will probably do the Edinburgh route a couple of times, but maybe at times like Tuesday at 7am etc.

Agree with much of this, it was a nice nostalgic show with plenty of that Corrie silliness. However, I'm not sure why but some of the acting was really poor, I wonder if it is the 5 episodes a week thing just squeezing these actors too much that they are settling for one take and moving on. Some of those actors are far better than we saw the other night.