Two nuggets of news. Via Nimbos, I learn that the short film The Cat Came Back is now available online. I was surprised to see that it was made as recently as 1988. This is a very clear childhood memory and I will no doubt have the song in my head for days to come.

And from the BBC comes the very good news that the “singy lady” will soon be available in the shops as BBC Worldwide will be releasing a collection of Murray Gold‘s Doctor Who music.

BBC: Blair admits resignation mistake:

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has acknowledged it may have been a “mistake” to announce he would not be serving a fourth term in office.

“People kept asking me the question so I decided to answer it. Maybe that was a mistake,” he told Australian radio after attending the Commonwealth Games.

Later Downing Street said what he meant was it was a mistake to expect the announcement would end speculation.

I can see a couple of possible reasons why this might be newsworthy: Downing Street can’t help living up to their reputation for spin, backtracking what Blair said; and the sheer idea that Blair has admitted to a mistake about anything.

But this off-hand, drowned out comment doesn’t affect public policy one jot. It also doesn’t even have an implication for the increasingly tedious and over-written “will-they-won’t-they” question about when Gordon Brown – John Major to Blair’s Mrs T. – will take over. So why is it the top story on the BBC, the front page story in theguardian, and all over Sky?

As we all know, it’s not about left and right these days, but nevertheless, here, thanks to BBC scheduling, is one simple question to sort the pinkos from the Francos.

At 9pm tonight, are you more likely to watch BBC One (To Kill a Burglar: The Tony Martin Story*) or BBC Two (The Plot Against Harold Wilson)?

*not Scotland

…and you can too.

I have for a few years been a member of LogoFreeTV but I’d long ago resigned myself to the continued existence of the digital on-screen graphic (DOG) in the corner of my television – or rather, on widescreen TV, floating in the middle of the screen. These DOGs are apparently intended to let viewers know which channel they’re watching, but since anyone with digital also has an electronic programme guide that tells them which channel they’re on (and, more usefully, the programme), DOGs are redundant.

To add insult to injury, BBC Three News has published a story about DOGs that treats anyone who disagrees with the Beeb’s enthusiasm for them with contempt.

In a world where international terrorism, indiscriminate murder and global poverty are facts of life, you might think people would have more important things to worry about than little logos in the top corner of their television screen.

Alas, no.

Those little graphics displaying the names of all your favourite digital channels – BBC Three, MTV, Bid-Up TV, UK Living – technically known as Digital Originated Graphics (DOGs) are the cause of much consternation among certain viewers.

Just don’t call them geeks who should get a life…
[…]
Of course, if you still don’t like it, you can always complain.

Yes, they provide a link to complain (which others have done before). So let’s do it. Have a read of the whole story and then please join my in complaining about DOGs, and in particular about this gratuitously snide article.

Update: Victory! The story has now been rewritten and is much more balanced and less offensive. Like Sam Beckett, the Beeb have put right what once went wrong.