Completely devoid of energy or the will to carry on, James says farewell (for now) to podcasting in a poignant, short episode. The image for this episode was generated by a free AI image generator with the prompt:  'In a desolate landscape a small tortoise is looking at a bill board bearing the text, Goodbye for Now'.

James is back to eclectic mixes (again) with the seasonally appropriate ‘Gunpowder’ which he missed last year; He really rates Patricia Cornwall as a writer, but fears ‘At Risk’ will be yet another vapid, run-of-the-mill snooze-fest churned out for the dosh. And, Although LEGO masters was forecast in what's up next, it hasn't made it, for reasons that will be apparent. The way, the image for this episode was generated by a free AI image generator with the prompt: on the left is a small lego tower, with differently coloured blocks. In the middle is a small derringer gun with a wisp of smoke coming out of the muzzle and to the right is a barrel with ‘GUNPOWDER’ written on it.

James casts his beady eye on one of his favourite films (will it stand up to scrutiny?), expects something light and fluffy with wagging tails and - in contrast -  surly people doing unneighbourly things. By the way, the image for this episode was generated by a free AI image generator with the prompt: A silhouette of a cute little dog is jumping up at a ‘for rent’ sign for a decrepit house, while in the background is the misty, mysterious image of a giant clock.  

James was a bit late getting the previous episode out. Blame events dear boy, events. So these were picked rapidly, primarily because the titles caught his eye. There’s a Viagra scam, cowboys fighting creatures from another planet and Baldrick from Blackadder being a history buff. (Ha!) Themed episodes, who needs them? By the way, the image for this episode was generated by a free AI image generator with the prompt: In front of a smokey image of a Victorian factory, a cowboy is shooting at an alien holding a blister pack of red pills.

James spreads his sardonic wit in a themed game show episode! It's all a bit filler vanilla but the one that could be won equally by a goat eating spinach or a professor with a brain the size of Wrexham powers to the front, by virtue of having big money prizes. The image for this episode was generated by a free AI image generator with the prompt: A black and white drawing of stick figures on the set of a generic TV game show.   

James has got confused (again) He's reviewed ‘Gilmore Girls’ thinking it was ‘Derry girls’. But he likes it anyway (with a few reservations.) And as for 'wheeler dealers', well, passionate experts looking at mechanical stuff has always appealed. And then there is Joker. Well, not the anodyne origin story he was expecting. Grime. Violence. Menace. All in all, a brilliant film, so far from the usual tedious superman/batman snooze-fests it could have come from a different planet. A must watch. By the way, the image for this episode was generated by a free AI image generator with the prompt: A teenage girl and her glam Mum are driving an MGB Roadster while overhead is an exaggerated red grin.

James had heard of Ludwig, even read a good review about it, so he thinks he should shove in his critical ha’pence. As for Anna Richardson: Love, Loss & Dementia …. well … like most people his age, James is scared? Terrified? Curious? About losing his marbles, and ending up drooling in the corner. And to finish, what is - are? - MAFS? That’s M A F S. James has no idea, so thought he'd find out. The image for this episode was generated by a free AI image generator with the prompt: a man with a head like a jigsaw is looking at an old man with an empty space in his head while in the background are a bride and groom.

So, here we go for another eclectic mix: ‘Secret Crush’ which is a .. erm … game show? A reality program? In truth, James isn't sure. He's hoping for ‘dress to impress’ levels of mind-boggling ineptitude and fist in mouth embarrassment, but who knows? Plus, what appears to be a dramadoc about small town murders, so could be interesting. And, to finish, a silent, black and white Charlie Chaplin classic. How does that appear now, a 103 years later? By the way, the image for this episode was generated by a free AI image generator with the prompt: In a mysterious English village, a tramp wearing a bowler hat is carrying a heart-shaped letter while a girl holding a knife looks on.

James confirms a 1970s sitcom is as good as he remembers, while an infantile Stateside police procedural gets up his nose. To end, he's sad and disappointed at a bit of jet air travel puffery, and mangles a Peter Cook quote to finish. The image for this episode was generated by a free AI image generator with the prompt: a USA police car in front of a run-down, decrepit Victorian townhouse while overhead are many, many planes of different sizes and types  

Seldom has James's sardonic eye been put to better use than in reviewing 'Strictly.' But then he really rates 'The Northman.' Who wouldn't, with Valkyries and whatever. As for Buddha, well, it looks like the kind of religion he'd like. If it is a religion.   The image for this episode was generated by a free AI image generator with the prompt: a painting of two energetic, colourful dancers. Behind is a large Buddha wearing a viking helmet. God (? if there is such a thing) knows what happened the Buddha's helmet.

James nods off during a worthy, bucolic program full of good intentions and finds an early Clint Eastwood doesn't come up to snuff. the image for this episode was generated by a free AI image generator with the prompt:   wheat fields, a cosy thatched cottage and a tall, menacing, clean shaven deputy sheriff.  

James is quite impressed with a 1954 film starring Judy Holiday and Jack Lemmon, but is very much not impressed with an Ozzie soap opera set in a bay. The image for this episode was generated with the prompt: A 1950s young woman is washing her hands with bubbly soap, while in the background an opera is being performed.

James turns his analytical and sardonic eye on a gung-ho, action-packed Napoleonic war adventure and is not entirely convinced, while for a documentary on the 'golden age' of British crime writing (Agatha Christie et al) he has a pop at the volume of filler. The image for this episode was generated by a free AI image generator with the prompt: A heroic man is holding a sword while a demure lady reads a book entitled ‘murder’. Napoleonic wars.

James usually avoids game shows because, somehow, like semolina pudding, you just know they’re bad for you. But he was persuaded to give one a go. Hence Pointless. Even the name hints at wasted time. To balance this, a program he thought might be about zombies. He was mistaken, but pretty impressed anyway. And the image for this episode was generated by a free AI image generator with the prompt: A man with a megaphone is shouting at a coffin. Above is a giant question mark.

James likes a WW2 documentary and surprises himself with his reaction to a romantic fluffy bit fluff about rich Asians. The image for this episode was generated by a free AI image maker with the prompt: While a WW2 spitfire flies over the white cliffs of Dover, a modern Asian couple are energetically dancing by a rolls-royce.  

James is surprised at how different ‘Rumpole of the Bailey’ is from how he remembers, and watches a Channel 5 documentary about kitchens (errgh) and finds some American witches more charming than he expected. But that might be because he's in the mood for a bit of predictable fluff. The image for this episode was generated by a free AI image generator with the prompt: against a backdrop of the old bailey courthouse, a girl in a witch’s hat is holding a kitchen whisk, watercolour.

For once, James finds little to be caustic about in a 44 year old horror film and leaves sarcastic comments to one side when watching a the quirky first episode of a murder/mystery series. As he seldom says: all good stuff! The image for this episode was generated by a free AI image generator with the prompt: The iconic twin girls from “The Shining,” full length, wearing crowns.   

James finds his sardonic eye well tuned! He should have read the blurb on a tedious do-it-by-numbers Hammer production, finds the Olympics barging in like a rampant warthog on heat and is then a bit shortchanged by an otherwise good documentary on those cheeky sexploitation films of 50 years ago. The not so brilliant image for this episode was generated by a free AI image generator with the prompt: 'a curvy girl wearing a mini-skirt is carrying an Olympic torch while a large black bat swoops overhead.' Huh. You get what you pay for.  

Yep, it's not exactly acerbic review time as James casts his sardonic eye on a gritty UK prison drama, a program boasting a most intriguing title and - because after the first two he thinks he’ll need both nostalgia and a laugh, - one of the - no, the sitcom of the 1960s. The image for this episode was generated by a free AI image generator with the prompt: seen through prison bars, watching the setting sun, are the figures, with their backs to us, of a large shaggy carthorse and a man sitting in a deckchair by an I.V. drip.

This time, James casts his caustic and comic eye on an ancient film almost as old as he is and does an interestingly tilted review of a murder mystery and finishes by giving Channel 5 another go, with a travelogue. Channel 5? A sort of documentary? Yeah, why not: give them another chance. By the way, the image for this episode was generated by a free AI image generator with the prompt: A teenage schoolgirl, holding a bow and arrow in front of a film screen showing a black and white cowboy film van Gough style. By the way, the image for this episode was generated by a free AI image generator with the prompt: A teenage schoolgirl, holding a bow and arrow in front of a film screen showing a black and white cowboy film van Gough style.