There's also this slightly pompous suggestion that a best-of-seven series is the most honest way of sorting out the best teams.

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The two military men of note are the regimental doctor (Tom Nelis, compassionate and a bit pompous), and Fosca's kindly cousin, the colonel who leads the regiment (Stephen Bogardus, briskly authoritative).

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The press, currently so pious and pompous about the BBC's mistakes, faces the Leveson report at a very low level of public trust, and unless it learns to deal with its mistakes in a serious and transparent way, that is how it will remain.

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Then of course, there's Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr. in a knockout performance), a pompous multi-Oscar winner who is always eager to show audiences just how far he'll go for the sake of art.

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