Randomly decided to watch a Dramarama last night, The Secret of Croftmore from 1988. It featured Shug from Still Game, along with this 17-year-old lad called David making his TV debut. Whatever happened to him, I wonder?

Doctor Who Literature returns with "The War Machines", featuring an interview with the great @quarkmcmalus.bsky.social, and production design and another great song by @monstermaker.bsky.social. Please listen, like, and share.

ICYMI - a catchy War Machines song... and make sure to listen to the Dr Who Lit episode tomorrow!

Only just caught up with the Lizzie Hopley ep of @scarredforlife.bsky.social where Andy mentions his Nan's home in Norris Green. She lived round the corner from my Nan, who appropriately enough lived on SCARgreen Ave, the oppose side of Utting Ave E.

Here we go - in advance of the next Dr Who Lit Podcast, you'll be singing this all weekend: We Love Wotan! youtu.be/YurIB1vu8ag?...

Are any of my friends Hugo voters? How do we get this podcast an award? Lots of awards! I don't think it's disrespectful towards other podcasts (including the one I co-produce) to say Graeme and the team have come up with the best podcast possible: www.comicscodepodcast.com

I'm so proud of my friend Graeme. He's always been an exceptional storyteller but his new podcast series, The Comics Code, is so good I'm actually crying on public transport. The story of Superman's creation is heartbreaking and inspirational. Roll on, series two!

Next week, I'm releasing a song I created for the Dr Who Lit podcast. For the only time, I used AI to create the music from my lyrics. I feel bad doing this, but it really worked as an experiment because next week's book is The War Machines. What makes it worse is, the song's an utter banger.

Lethal Weapon sure gets away with a lot in the whole "Xmas movie" debate.

Started to watch The Traitors Ireland. Have decided I need a clear hour between episides and bedtime because that was intense!!!!

Doctor Who Literature returns with its first book-oriented episode of 2025. Joining me this week is the phenomenally well-traveled podcaster @melvinpena.bsky.social, and several musical cues from @monstermaker.bsky.social termaker.bsky.social. Enjoy!

In advance of the first Dr Who Literature Podcast ep in over a year (released this weekend), here's my animated musical tribute to Delta and the Bannermen: youtu.be/Icjk51DcSDI?...

New! A little promo for the return of the Doctor Who Literature Podcast - with a special guest presenter! www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_Mg...

The Dr Who Literature Podcast is back! And so are the animations! Check our YouTube account tomorrow and Friday for new things! linktr.ee/DrWhoNovels

As a consequence of a call to action in this episode, I've made a design that can be added to tees, stickers, even cushions! www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/1759...

Doctor Who Literature returns with a tribute to Christopher H. Bidmead. Featuring a new interview with @andr3wsmith.bsky.social, excerpts from our archives for each of Chris Bidmead's three Doctor Who episodes, and new readings from @monstermaker.bsky.social. open.spotify.com/episode/3F31...

Getting a film in before Traitors, so I've gone for Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964), Richard Attenborough in a Bryan Forbes film that I've never seen. #WOEvember

By the time I finish Vengeance of the Zombies (1973) tonight, my street should be filled with smoke from all the fireworks. Spooky Guy Fawkes night movie #WOEvember

Now I've observed my SHOCKtober ritual, I can catch up on some actual telly. Still got the latest series of Only Murders, there's Down Cemetery Road at last! Plus all the older shows I was working through, like Maigret and SNL. But can I be arsed to finish Alien Earth? I'm not sure I can.

A kind of late #SHOCKtober - or should it be #WOEvember - the stage production of Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein comes to the Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester.

Everything I watched for SHOCKtober 2025 (1): Martin (1978) Hills Have Eyes (1977) Death Walks on High Heels (1971) Lust of the Vampire (1958) Conjuring 2 (2016) Abby (1974) Daughters of Darkness (1971) The Plumber (1979) Daughters of Darkness (1971) The Werewolf vs the Vampire Woman (1971)

A final #SHOCKtober - animated mash-up Mad Monster Party? (1967) stars Boris Karloff as Dr F, with special guest star Phyllis Fuller.

#SHOCKtober Stepping back into giallo with an Italian thriller with a crazy title - The Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion (1970).

#SHOCKtober Another Paul Naschy, and a very mid-70s theme Exorcismo (1975). Apparently Naschy had the idea for the film before the glut of exorcism movies, but I'm assuming that's why it got made?

Lunchtime #SHOCKtober and Columbia try to pull a Universal by doing The Return of the Vampire (1943) with Bela Lugosi and a wolfman.

I want to bring The Comics Code Podcast to your attention, created by my pal @graemeburk.bsky.social This is a superb piece of work, telling the story of how Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster lost the rights to their creation: Superman. Ep01 is out now. comicscodepodcast.com

#SHOCKtober The title card says Curse of the Devil but it's El Retorno de Walpurgis (1973), the next of Paul Naschy's Daninsky werewolf films.

#SHOCKtover Rondo Hatton stars as The Brute (1946). There's something sad about this because, unlike the other Universal "Monsters", that's Hatton's actual face

#SHOCKtober - David Cronenberg is a bit of a blind spot for me, so I'm giving this a go: Scanners (1981)

#SHOCKtober I know nothing about Manos: the Hand of Fate (1966) but @ohsinnerman.bsky.social suggested it. So far, the dialogue seems to have been written after the film was shot, like The Flashing Blade.

Mini #SHOCKtober - a short film on YouTube called Sweet Revenge (2025). Another one I've been saving for tonight. youtu.be/O_dEbWGRXsg?...

#SHOCKtober I've been saving this one for the last Saturday night of the month... Sinners (2025)

#SHOCKtober - and I might regret this but Billy the Kid versus Dracula (1966) is calling.

#SHOCKtober An odd one, as the copy I have is the US reissue with the title The Horrible House on the Hill, but this is actually Devil Times Five (1974).

#SHOCKtober what a credits list - Carl Laemmle presents Karloff (surname only!) and Bela Lugosi in an Edgar Allan Poe story, The Black Cat (1934). Perfect hissy late-night hokum.

Film #32 for my #SHOCKtober is The Vampires Night Orgy (1973). No apostrophe - burn it!!!!

AI is a con perpetrated by the untalented so they can aspire to be mediocre by dragging the average downwards. Seeing my favourite season contaminated like this is so upsetting.

Mini #SHOCKtober before bed, the first Dramarama Spooky, War Games with Caroline.

Tonight's #SHOCKtober is another Paul Naschy, not the Wolfman - it's Count Dracula's Great Love (1973).

Lunchtime #SHOCKtober - The Man in Black (1950) with Valentine Dyall recreating his role of narrator from the radio series.

Under Over Over - West Hampstead So it's taken a while, but I've finally found a location where you can clearly see London Underground trains traveling over London Overground trains. The vantage point is at West Hampstead Overground station at the end of the platform.

New addition to my Redbubble shop - El Hombre Lobo! www.redbubble.com/i/t-shirt/El...

I've never seen a Tod Slaughter film before and this is the closest he did to a horror - The Face at the Window (1939) begins by telling us there's a "wolf Man" loose in Paris. It also says the name of the film twice in the first minute. Hurrah! #SHOCKtober

#SHOCKtober a Universal horror (not many of them left now) - Night Monster (1942)

My Paul Naschy obsession continues with the gloriously titled Dr Jekyll and the Werewolf (1972).

Saturday night in #SHOCKtober and I'm going for Wolf Man (2025). I wonder how this will compare to Universal's version from 84 years ago....

I've not watched any zombie movies for a couple of years, but I'm going in on Lucio Fulci's banned video nasty Zombie Flesh Eaters - aka Zombie (1979). #SHOCKtober

This week has been overwhelming and frustrating. I've done nothing creative aside from these SHOCKtober posts. Just a parental visit to do before I can head home, crack open a bottle of red and numb my senses.

Another infamous 80s slasher that I've not seen before but it was recommended by @80shorrordoc.bsky.social - tonight's #SHOCKtober film is Sleepaway Camp (1983).

As an extra #SHOCKtober I'm watching another Dramarama. Death Angel. The one with the masked wrestler. I remember this one from broadcast although didn't realise it was a repeat from Theatre Box. Double shocker, it was written by Brian Glover and starred Ray Winstone!