But probably not for the reason you think. Planet Earth actually imbues me with a deep contempt for the broadcast regulator. The BBC is sitting on an immense library of stunning HD footage which they wish to share with everyone via freeview. For months the regulator has argued HD broadcast over freeview is impossible because it is poor use of limited bandwidth. Of course. What we really need are five extra shopping channels. As HDTVs gradually become the norm, it is difficult to see how such a position can be maintained. It is inevitable that eventually free HD footage must be made available. This will either require an incalculably expensive network of free cable provision, or better use of the available broadcast bandwidth. Currently, it seems, the regulator is just not doing its job. The question is are enough people complaining for them to care? Also, there are over 6 billion humans and only 40 Amur leopards left in the wild. That can’t be right either.

I came across Street Kings, a film about cop culture directed by the writer of Training Day, via the roundabout fact that Hugh Laurie acts in it. Given that his brief appearance in the trailer lasts a scant half a second, one imagines there must be more direct routes through which one might arrive in the same location. He is surrounded by a strangely assembled cast that seems almost contrived with its mix of Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker, “Common” and “The Game”. As Jehan points out, Laurie’s inclusion will serve only to cement the already prevalent American misconception that he is in fact an American. Because why wouldn’t he be?