Judi Dench, 85, looks relaxed as she soaks up the sun on ...

With another Thursday upon us, BritBox UK once again serves up the new content. The big one of course is the delayed arrival of the legendary Minder. Now, technically this cannot be called a definitive collection thanks to a standalone TV film (Minder on the Orient Express) not being included. Even with that caveat though, it should be noted that this massive upload includes 105 50-minute episodes over 10 series (1979 - 1994). Here is the official synopsis:

George Cole & Dennis Waterman star in this hit comedy-drama. Arthur Daley, a small-time crook hires ex-boxer Terry McCann as his minder. Terry's been in prison, but can he keep on the straight and narrow if he is working for the King of Dodgy Deals?

The other big arrival today is what was advertised as “The Best of An Audience with...”. While this was assumed to be a boxset collection, each special has instead been uploaded separately. While this may seem like clutter, this isn’t exactly an illogical move by the BritBox UK team. While An Audience with... is casually referred to as a series, in reality, it was highly irregular over 30+ years, with specials merely airing whenever ITV felt like it. Whatever your opinion on the organisational decision, here are all of the specials added this morning:

• An Audience with Billy Connolly (1985)

Scottish funny man Billy Connolly delights a star-studded audience including Bob Geldof, Twiggy and Michael Parkinson in this 1985 special. Listen to him recount hilarious tales from his life and career in his unique style of comedy.

• An Audience with Bob Monkhouse (1994)

The late great comedian Bob Monkhouse entertains a celebrity audience that includes Stephen Fry, Mandy Smith and Eamonn Holmes in this 1994 special. Watch him answer questions, tell funny tales and crack jokes.

• An Audience with Cliff Richard (1999)

Music legend Cliff Richard entertains a celeb-filled audience that includes Charlotte Church and Una Stubbs in this 1999 special. Watch him answer questions and perform some of his best-known hits with Elaine Page and Another Level.

• An Audience with Harry Hill (2004)

Comedian Harry Hill is in the hot seat for this 2004 special. Watch the man with the largest collar in showbiz as he entertains celebrities including Jo Brand, Al Murray and Stephen Tompkinson with gags and stories.

• An Audience with Jimmy Tarbuck (1994)

Comedian Jimmy Tarbuck entertains an audience of celebrity guests in this 1994 special. Watch him recount tales from his life and career and jam with musical guests.

• An Audience with Ken Dodd (1994)

Legendary comedian Ken Dodd enthralls a celebrity audience to celebrate 40 years in show business in this 1994 special. Watch him entertain guests including Frank Carson, Paul Daniels, Warren Mitchell and Kevin Whately.

• An Audience with Kenneth Williams (1983)

Carry On legend Kenneth Williams delights a celebrity audience by recalling some of the funniest moments of his career. Spot stars including Michael Parkinson, Joan Sims and Bernard Bresslaw in the crowd.

• An Audience with Peter Ustinov (1988)

Celebrated actor Peter Ustinov entertains a crowd of celebrities including John Cleese, Geoffrey Palmer and Joanna Lumley this 1988 special. Expect hilariously entertaining stories from his life and career.

• An Audience with Ronnie Corbett (1997)

Super-talented comic Ronnie Corbett pulls out all the stops to entertain a celebrity audience including on-screen sidekick Ronnie Barker, Damien Hirst and Frank Skinner in this 1997 special.

• An Audience with Victoria Wood (1988)

British comedy legend Victoria Wood entertains a star-studded audience including Julie Walters, Judi Dench and Dawn French in this 1988 special. Watch her crack jokes, play the piano and answer light-hearted questions.

• One More Audience with Dame Edna (1988)

The gloriously glamorous Dame Edna entertains a celebrity audience in this 1988 special. Watch as one of showbiz's most enduring entertainers cracks jokes, tell stories and teases the star-studded crowd.

And now, here is everything else added to BritBox UK today:

• Jekyll and Hyde (2015)

Richard E. Grant stars in this dark adventure tale, loosely based on Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 book. Set in 1930s London and Ceylon, it follows the grandson of Doctor Jekyll as he discovers his true family history and the nature of his 'curse'.

• Kevin’s Grandest Design (2011) - along with the addition of series 14 to 19 of the main Grand Designs series

Presenter Kevin McCloud revisits his top five properties and chats to the people who created them. Find out just what inspired him about each of these ambitious self-building projects.

• The Persuaders! (1971)

Roger Moore & Tony Curtis star in this epic 70s adventure show about two wealthy, and pretty bored, playboys drawn into a life of danger. Together they seek justice in an unjust world while enjoying some pretty swanky hotels and supercars.

• Gemma Collins: Diva Forever (& Ever, series 3, 2020)

TOWIE's biggest diva lets the cameras in on her next adventure after leaving the hit show. Watch as she juggles a hectic work schedule of TV presenting, singing and photoshoots while hanging out with her new celeb pals.

• The Best of Cannon and Ball (single, 50 minute TV episode, 1985)

Comedy double act Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball entertain with their unique brand of humour in various different sketches, with a little help from some celebrity guests.

Note: The Best of Cannon and Ball may have been added on December 8th.

This was too good, so I thought i would share the full monologue video (youtube link below) and even toss in the transcript for dissection.
Hello and welcome to the 77th annual Golden Globe Awards, live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel here in Los Angeles. I’m Ricky Gervais, thank you.
You’ll be pleased to know this is the last time I’m hosting these awards, so I don’t care anymore. I’m joking. I never did. I’m joking, I never did. NBC clearly don’t care either — fifth time. I mean, Kevin Heart was fired from the Oscars for some offensive tweets — hello?
Lucky for me, the Hollywood Foreign Press can barely speak English and they’ve no idea what Twitter is, so I got offered this gig by fax. Let’s go out with a bang, let’s have a laugh at your expense. Remember, they’re just jokes. We’re all gonna die soon and there’s no sequel, so remember that.
But you all look lovely all dolled up. You came here in your limos. I came here in a limo tonight and the license plate was made by Felicity Huffman. No, shush. It’s her daughter I feel sorry for. OK? That must be the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to her. And her dad was in Wild Hogs.
Lots of big celebrities here tonight. Legends. Icons. This table alone — Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro … Baby Yoda. Oh, that’s Joe Pesci, sorry. I love you man. Don’t have me whacked. But tonight isn’t just about the people in front of the camera. In this room are some of the most important TV and film executives in the world. People from every background. They all have one thing in common: They’re all terrified of Ronan Farrow. He’s coming for ya. Talking of all you perverts, it was a big year for pedophile movies. Surviving R. Kelly, Leaving Neverland, Two Popes. Shut up. Shut up. I don’t care. I don’t care.
Many talented people of color were snubbed in major categories. Unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do about that. Hollywood Foreign press are all very racist. Fifth time. So. We were going to do an In-Memoriam this year, but when I saw the list of people who died, it wasn’t diverse enough. No, it was mostly white people and I thought, nah, not on my watch. Maybe next year. Let’s see what happens.
No one cares about movies anymore. No one goes to cinema, no one really watches network TV. Everyone is watching Netflix. This show should just be me coming out, going, "Well done Netflix. You win everything. Good night." But no, we got to drag it out for three hours. You could binge-watch the entire first season of Afterlife instead of watching this show. That’s a show about a man who wants to kill himself cause his wife dies of cancer and it’s still more fun than this. Spoiler alert, season two is on the way so in the end he obviously didn’t kill himself. Just like Jeffrey Epstein. Shut up. I know he’s your friend but I don’t care.
Seriously, most films are awful. Lazy. Remakes, sequels. I’ve heard a rumor there might be a sequel to Sophie’s Choice. I mean, that would just be Meryl just going, "Well, it’s gotta be this one then." All the best actors have jumped to Netflix, HBO. And the actors who just do Hollywood movies now do fantasy-adventure nonsense. They wear masks and capes and really tight costumes. Their job isn’t acting anymore. It’s going to the gym twice a day and taking steroids, really. Have we got an award for most ripped junky? No point, we’d know who’d win that.
Martin Scorsese made the news for his controversial comments about the Marvel franchise. He said they’re not real cinema and they remind him about theme parks. I agree. Although I don’t know what he’s doing hanging around theme parks. He’s not big enough to go on the rides. He’s tiny. The Irishman was amazing. It was amazing. It was great. Long, but amazing. It wasn’t the only epic movie. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, nearly three hours long. Leonardo DiCaprio attended the premiere and by the end his date was too old for him. Even Prince Andrew was like, “Come on, Leo, mate.You’re nearly 50-something.”
The world got to see James Corden as a fat pussy. He was also in the movie Cats. No one saw that movie. And the reviews, shocking. I saw one that said, "This is the worst thing to happen to cats since dogs." But Dame Judi Dench defended the film saying it was the film she was born to play because she loves nothing better than plunking herself down on the carpet, lifting her leg and licking her ass. (Coughs) Hairball. She’s old-school.
It’s the last time, who cares? Apple roared into the TV game with The Morning Show, a superb drama about the importance of dignity and doing the right thing, made by a company that runs sweatshops in China. Well, you say you’re woke but the companies you work for in China — unbelievable. Apple, Amazon, Disney. If ISIS started a streaming service you’d call your agent, wouldn’t you?
So if you do win an award tonight, don’t use it as a platform to make a political speech. You’re in no position to lecture the public about anything. You know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg.
So if you win, come up, accept your little award, thank your agent, and your God and fuck off, OK? It’s already three hours long. Right, let’s do the first award.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCNdTLHZAeo
Personal random thought: " Just remember: they’re only jokes, and we’re all going to die soon,” - Ricky Gervais
There are SO many jabs and haymakers in this monologue that hit right on the nose, but this quote got me thinking. He calls out all of Hollywood and a even some HUGE Tech Giants with some very uncomfortable truths. He is pretty adamant that he doesn't care about any repercussions from his roast. Maybe that room full of people know something the rest of us don't. Is it possible they all know of some imminent catastrophic event? Meteor in bound? Alien takeover? Yellowstone blowing? Agenda 21 ramp up? WW3? Most likely he is just giving a nod to collapse in general, I have no idea. Just something about the way he said it and the tone of it. It just resonated like it might have been a hint at something they are all "in the know" about. It just had the vibe that they all might know something the plebian masses don't.