Len Deighton 1929-2026

Len Deighton has died aged 97

His works were very much part of the reaction against James Bond in the 1960s, with "Harry Palmer" being one of the most famous of the characters from that time, played with aplomb by Sir Michael Caine.

I've read the majority of his works and would easily characterise him as one of my favourites. The RP I am currently running on two sites, Secret '67, is very much influenced by his work.

A spectacular literary innings. Rest in Peace.

Two lost episodes of Doctor Who found

Two missing episodes of "The Daleks' Master Plan" have been found in the estate of a private collector by Film is Fabulous! and will be available in iPlayer in April.

I listened to the full audio of the story back in 2012 and reviewed it here. With the video of the first and third episodes now there, I'm going to watch those two again and give my thoughts.

Watch this space (and time).

The end of the Islamic regime in Iran?

It appears for the second time this year that the United States has managed to remove a foreign leader they didn't like from power, with  Ayatollah Khamenei possibly killed in the large-scale US and Israeli attack on Iran.

This was an attack of choice with no Congressional backing, let alone one from the United Nations. The Trump administration is riding roughshod over international law, the US Constitution and common decency.

But not many will be mourning the death of Ali Khamenei, leader of one of the most oppressive regimes in the world, a literal inspiration for Gilead from The Handmaid's Tale. That is probably why there will be no real consequences for the US action here - the EU itself believed Iran was a threat in multiple ways.

It has not been a good century for those opposed to the United States. Bin Laden is lying at the bottom of the ocean. Saddam Hussein died the death of a common criminal. Gadaffi was killed by his own people. Maduro is in a prison cell. Assad is in exile.

But US action has unleashed horrific forces in many of the countries it has targeted. Improvements have occurred only after a massive wave of chaos and not always then. Refugees coming from Libya are probably a major cause of the rise of the far-right in Europe.

So, Iran has become the next 'victim' - and one can only pray a better government emerges there.

Rob Grant 1955-2026

 The co-creator of Red Dwarf has died suddenly aged 70. 

A comic genius, whose work was a source of joy to many millions around the world, has passed away. He will deeply missed.

o7 Mr Grant, o7.

Update - February 2026

I am continuing to work my way through Star Trek: The Animated Series, but the other Star Trek series on at the moment, which is actually pretty good, is limiting my time for that. I might put up a post when I hit episode 10, so you at least get some content.

I've got some stuff on Netflix that I really ought to finish off that's been partly watched for years. One thing that's not been on there for years and which I might review is a Korean show called Agents of Mystery.

Olivia's no longer in Kansas (Review: 'Fringe' 1.20, "There's More Than One of Everything")

Not that she was ever exactly in Kansas in the first place. The Fringe Division is largely confined to the NE United States, it seems.

Murder in Minneapolis

No sense in mincing words here. ICE is rotten to the core, an army of masked thugs with no willingness to abide by the rules of common decency.

It needs to be abolished and those in charge of it criminally investigated.

Enforcing borders is important, but it must be done humanely. ICE is incapable of doing that.