iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

David Rolinson @rolinsond.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I was once at a TV people/academics/public Granada event in Manchester and the buzz that went round the room when Jackie joined in from the audience brought to mind the challenge of the programme - living normal life for the 7 years inbetween series but being known #70Up

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David Rolinson @rolinsond.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

#70Up felt a bit separate from the rest of the Up series, but in the right ways - a moving elegy for the participants and itself and (as the series has been for a long time) a reflection on its own methods and ethics.

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David Rolinson @rolinsond.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

I just watched an episode of UFO that has a bleak ending, by which I mean I just watched an episode of UFO

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David Rolinson @rolinsond.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Another year of #hcafc getting knocked out of the Needs Some Minutes Trophy and I've only just found out that carabao refers to a drink and not a buffalo. I *suppose* this makes more sense in a way.

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David Rolinson @rolinsond.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

My unasked-for #doctorwho take of the day* is that Death to the Daleks episode 2 is a trainee video nasty. Not just the contents but the sound plus look/and texture - just needs to be third-gen VHS. + as I said in a fanzine centuries ago, "moderately efficient" is one of the Daleks' creepier moments

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David Rolinson @rolinsond.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Loads of things to like about the start, but I love how suited Belloumi looks to the Prem. #hcafc

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Ian Greaves @greavesian.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Join me for a skeetalong-a- #PendasFen this Wednesday night when BBC4 reruns it from 10.15pm. Behind the scenes stories, pics and things to spot. If you've seen the play before, then follow live. If it's new to you, give it proper attention and then join the # on catch up. Link in bio to the book.

Title screen for Play for Today: Penda's Fen (1974)

Close up on Dictionary of Place Names reading "Penda's fen" with Penda in italics.

Cover of Penda's Fen: Scene by Scene (Ten Acre Books 2025)

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David Rolinson @rolinsond.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Tonight's eps: I preferred the bits that felt like Casualty, but there were enough of them, and I'm a sucker for a paratextual end credits tribute #Casualty

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David Rolinson @rolinsond.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

aaah *that's* what suffering for every point means. Earned. #hcafc

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David Rolinson @rolinsond.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

LA Law, that new series #Casualty, and the influence of Hill Street Blues, with Steve Bochco, Terry Louise Fisher, Jeremy Brock and more. From The Media Show (C4, 1987). Camera by Barry Ackroyd and your EP for this segment is @illuminations.bsky.social. On my YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8FF...

youtube.com

LA Law, Casualty, and the influence of Hill Street Blues (The Media Show, 1987)

YouTube video by rolinsond

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David Rolinson @rolinsond.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Ooo. I'd missed that this was happening. A new transfer would be lovely (the BD is a big improvement on what we had but there's scope for more). I'll have that page of Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol on standby.

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David Rolinson @rolinsond.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Downside to #hcafc promotion is that I am now having opinions about transfer deadline day/week/month

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David Rolinson @rolinsond.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

My unasked-for #doctorwho takes of the day* are (a) Invasion of the Dinosaurs is one of the best Pertwee stories. Out of the Unknown does political conspiracy thriller plus the biggest metaphors this side of Battlefield. Three stories in one, rattling along for once... 1/3

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David Rolinson @rolinsond.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

I. Will. Stop. Talking. To. Myself. Soon. (As I've said to myself - often in public - ever since.) Rewatched GBH again earlier this year, so bang up for this.

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David Rolinson @rolinsond.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Small-town America on film: interviews with David Lynch and Joe Dante and discussion of films such as Blue Velvet, Gremlins, Invasion of the Body Snatchers and It's a Wonderful Life. Segment from The Media Show (1987), over on my YouTube www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQw-...

youtube.com

Small-town America on film, with David Lynch and Joe Dante (The Media Show, 1987)

YouTube video by rolinsond

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David Rolinson @rolinsond.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

How British TV was shooting on HD in the 1980s: making the BBC/NHK (Japan) co-pro The Ginger Tree (1989). Segment from The Media Show, over on my YouTube m.youtube.com/watch?v=MWBI...

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Making The Ginger Tree in HD (The Media Show, 1989)

YouTube video by rolinsond

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David Rolinson @rolinsond.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

And #hullfc winning an'all. Not as convincing as #hcafc but the atmos seems to be

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David Rolinson @rolinsond.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

"Never saw it coming"? Totally saw it coming. We'll have to play against better teams in future, mind #hcafc

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David Rolinson @rolinsond.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Last reminder! (...of this post, not of the book.)

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Dr Victoria Dawson @vsdawson.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Last plug for this! TOMORROW! Come and hear about some wonderful women and girls who stood up for themselves and each other in 1920. @hullhistorycentre.bsky.social

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David Rolinson @rolinsond.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

New! My audio interview with the Power of 3 podcast about my new book An Adventure in Space and Time, in which I occasionally talked about my new book An Adventure in Space and Time. I haven't heard it but thanks to @finishedzine.bsky.social @obversebooks.co.uk

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David Rolinson @rolinsond.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Free! Chapter 1 of my new book on An Adventure in Space and Time is available here #doctorwho - obversebooks.co.uk/product/an-a...

obversebooks.co.uk

An Adventure in Space and Time: An Archive Special – Obverse Books

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David Rolinson @rolinsond.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Yeah but we were really good for about ten minutes #hcafc

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David Rolinson @rolinsond.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Intense first half in the biggest derby in English sport #hullfc

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David Rolinson @rolinsond.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

No more watching both Hull sides lose! It's the Ull derby aka my homesickness trigger #hullfc

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Dr Victoria Dawson @vsdawson.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

I am giving my first public talk in a long time at @hullhistorycentre.bsky.social next month - all welcome!

Graphic reads: Solidarity, Soap Suds, and the Sweated Trade: the Hull Laundresses' Strike, 1920', a talk by Dr Victoria Dawson, Tuesday 11 August, 12:30 to 13:30, Hull History Centre.

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Joseph Oldham @paranoidstylist.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Now published - my article on an unproduced late 1970s film biopic of Kim Philby from the pen of Arthur Hopcraft, in the same period he adapted Tinker Tailor Solder Spy for TV. With guest appearances from Michael Caine, Robert Shaw, Michael Winner... sosconference2015.wordpress.com/wp-content/u...

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David Rolinson @rolinsond.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Recommended! A lovely read - a thoughtful chat with a seemingly well-known serial.

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Ian Greaves @greavesian.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

I whizzed through this over the weekend. As intricate a case study of televison as you would expect from David, full of insight and connections through a dizzying array of sources. There are already a number of rich, rewarding books about Doctor Who's foundational days. This, happily, is another.

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David Rolinson @rolinsond.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

New! Docudrama disclaimers - what are they and what do they do? www.britishtelevisiondrama.org.uk?p=8417

Disclaimer from When Barbara Met Alan says "The following film is based on true events. Some names and circumstances have been changed for dramatic purposes" but "dramatic purposes" has been crossed out and replaced with handwritten "LAWYERS"

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David Rolinson @rolinsond.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Keto Shimizu, please #doctorwho (or, if they keep only asking previous writers, Toby Whithouse)

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Ian Greaves @greavesian.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Nats Go Homme

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David Rolinson @rolinsond.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

How do history teachers travel in time? HOW might Barbara have taught history at school in the early 1960s? Which other history book might Susan have been reading? For more, see my new book, An Adventure in Space and Time... obversebooks.co.uk/product/an-a...

In a scene from Doctor Who story An Unearthly Child, Susan sits in a classroom reading a book titled THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. In the background, homework tasks for history are written in chalk on a blackboard

In a scene from the Doctor Who story 'The Aztecs', the Doctor talks to Barbara. His words appear here as subtitles: 'But you can't rewrite history. Not one line!'

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Obverse Books @obversebooks.co.uk · 12/05/2026

In stock now - and doesn't it look brilliant! AN ADVENTURE IN SPACE AND TIME by @rolinsond.bsky.social obversebooks.co.uk/product/an-a...

A stack of copies of the Black Archive Special - AN ADVENTURE IN SPACE AND TIME by David Rolinson

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University of Stirling Archives @unistirarchives.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Happy #InternationalNursesDay from us here at the NHS Forth Valley Archive! Can anyone help us date this fabulous poster from our collections?

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essextiger.bsky.social @essextiger.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

He comes on when he wants. He comes on when he wants! Mo belloumi. He comes on when he wants. #HCAFC

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David Rolinson @rolinsond.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

Last minute Billy-no-mates trip to Glasgow Barrowlands for Super Furry Animals and all is right with the world

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David Rolinson @rolinsond.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

...and I was very chuffed to hear about Ian's fabulous Penda's Fen book. (Any resemblance between that anecdote and that meal at the Langham in 1889 is coincidental.) Mine had already taken quite a few years longer. To paraphrase Inspector Japp: I'm not slow, I'm thorough

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Ian Greaves @greavesian.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

David described this to me in a cafe about a year ago and I've been waiting for a copy ever since.

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David Rolinson @rolinsond.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

If someone banging on about idents and transitions out of idents is your idea of a good time (such as this beauty going into Heaven Sent), head over to my new book on An Adventure in Space and Time obversebooks.co.uk/product/an-a...

One of the BBC One 'Circles' idents, this one featuring a centred circle of swimming hippos

The first shot of Doctor Who episode Heaven Sent, with centred circles creating the effect of lens flare. It resembles the BBC One Circles ident in several ways including the circles, placement of sunlight, and shadowed areas of the frame

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