Scotland's Home of the Year (BBC Scotland)

Michael Angus (standing) with Kate Spiers and Anna Campbell-Jones at front
Images from The Herald

While still walking through the rabbit hole of Britannia I came upon Scotland’s Home of the Year (SHOTY). The show is a tour of houses without the historical slant that Restoration Home had and more of the owner’s personal taste. 

A big red heart symbolizes that taste which the owners will make known as the favorite spot. Judges look out for it and once found they stop to see through the owner’s point of view. Judges and episode winners see each other only in the grand finals.

Restoration Home (BBC Two)

Dr. Kate Williams, Caroline Quentin and Kieran Long
BBC Two

While on a self declared break from my regular series I went down the rabbit hole that was YouTube, one video led to another until I found myself hooked on Restoration Home.

A production by the BBC Two, the documentary series presents old buildings acquired by ordinary citizens who are willing to see through the crazy idea of restoring said structures to habitability. 

Inequality for All (2013)

President Bill Clinton’s former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich believes that income inequality is the big problem that stalls the economy and is a threat to a proper working democracy. He makes his case here in Inequality for All.

Citizenfour (2014)

It was a trollish start for the now famous NSA whistle-blower. He was in fact more than the average troll communicating with encrypted emails which likewise required pass keys to read. To Laura Poitras, documentary filmmaker, and Glenn Greenwald of the Guardian both of whom he was trying to feel out for months he was Citizenfour.

The People vs George Lucas (2010)

The spirit of The People vs George Lucas boils down to the ownership of the art in all its meanings. 

Elstree 1976 (2015)

Immortalized and forgotten – that was my take away from the opening with its juxtaposition of toy and actor.   Toys went first with actor’s voices in the background talking about the action figures that represented them.  It was an odd mix so in my mind was always the question, who?  Who’s talking? Another set of visuals and images follow, this time actor follows the toy Star Wars character that they played.  They don’t ring a bell so I wondered who are they again?

Everyone remembers Mark Hamil, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford in 1977 when the original Star Wars was first released but in Elstree 1976 the focus now turns on extras and bit players. 

Engineering an Empire (2006 - 2007)

image from Calgary Herald

Engineering an Empire: the title I thought was an interesting combination of two words: engineering and empire. It was enough to catch my attention.

Battleplan (2005 - 2006)

Battleplan is not the Art of War. Certainly it is not as poetic, insightful, or as comprehensive as Sun Tzu’s work.

While many say the Art of War can be a great philosophy for both war and life in any age, the History Channel production, Battleplan, is still one of a kind for having clearly defined the steps of well known battle plans in the past 100 years.

Within a Minute: The Making of Episode III (2005)

The ‘making of a movie’ is a guaranteed staple on TV even before the film hits the theaters. It is advertising; it’s raising the hype; it’s showing every little tidbit of how our beloved stars go about in their job. Did he do his own stunts; how much was she paid; what new things did he learn – they all show this in 'the making'.

My interests are more than what happened behind the scenes. As a mass communication graduate, I have developed an interest in the technical aspects of film making. I do love to learn what my favorite stars do on films like any other fan but since I have made some school film projects of my own with my classmates, intellectual curiosity made me more curious as to how professional make theirs.