Ahhh, Peter Capaldi, the dapper, mild -mannered thespian and for a whole generation, forever ‘Dr Who’. But undercover of darkness, he transformed into Malcolm Tucker, godfather of spin, Beelzebub in a suit, and *wink* not at all based on Alistair Campbell, Tony Blair’s right-hand man. ‘The Thick of It ‘, created by the brilliant ArmandoContinue reading “Malcolm Tucker’s Rough Guide to Lyrical Profanity”
Category Archives: Television
“It’s Alright”… A public announcement from ‘The Day Today ‘
Who, prithee, can we count on in times like these? Who’ll be there in our hour of need, when all seems lost? Russell Brand is struggling to find appropriate pages of comforting verse in his bible; Trump is struggling in general, and the world remains as divided- and divisive – as ever. Let us turnContinue reading ““It’s Alright”… A public announcement from ‘The Day Today ‘”
Talk Talk Talk
Is the British TV chat show dying? I ask as The Claudia Winkleman Show has just finished- to varying reviews – on BBC 1, while, like buses, another one pops up on Channel 4. However, unlike Claudia, this isn’t another virgin voyage, it’s TFI Friday Unplugged . Yes, Chris Evans is back to try toContinue reading “Talk Talk Talk”
Happy Birthday , Samuel Beckett 🍌
What a visage: like a tor you’ve spent ages attempting to scale. What writing: past, present and an elusive future. Samuel Beckett would have been 120 today- imagine. His detractors thought him morbid, or impenetrable. They’re wrong on the latter. He’s touching, hilarious, tender, raw. Even his pauses have eloquence; his silences, poetry. Who elseContinue reading “Happy Birthday , Samuel Beckett 🍌”
Gallery Review: Curtain Call, McManus Gallery,Dundee
This exhibition has many beautiful costumes from stage and screen, with a particular emphasis on Scottish designers. Jane Petrie, from Newport-On-Tay has many glorious costumes included here, such as the regal gowns from the hit series The Crown starring Claire Foy, and The Essex Serpent with Tom Hiddleston and Claire Danes. A reproduction of JackieContinue reading “Gallery Review: Curtain Call, McManus Gallery,Dundee”
TV Review: The Other Bennet Sister
It’s not as ambitious as Isobel McArthur’s sly, Olivier Award-winning Pride and Prejudice (Sort Of) but The Other Bennet Sister, a new adaptation of the story by Jane Hadlow, with screenplay by Sarah Quintrell and Maddie Dai,does have something in common: it focuses on the overlooked character, bookish and plain Miss Bennet, Mary. Sure, thereContinue reading “TV Review: The Other Bennet Sister”
It’s War!!!
The French have a saying: “Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme”, which translates as “the more things change, the more they stay the same”. So it is with politics. Armando Iannucci and Chris Morris remain two of my favourite satirists and their classic 90s news parody The Day Today still holds up well, asContinue reading “It’s War!!!”
TV Review: Only Child
Writer and director Bryce Hart’s sitcom Only Child is fairly generic on paper: prodigal son returns to small town to reconnect with ageing parent. But it’s the minutiae and pathos that make this sitcom so binge worthy, and, ultimately, truly affecting. Greg McHugh portrays Richard Pritchard, a mid-level actor returning to the small northern townContinue reading “TV Review: Only Child”
The End Of The End Of The Pier, As We Knew It
Noel Edmonds and Mr Blobby: nightmare fuel Jokes which don’t land, surprises which are deeply humiliating to all involved, rubbish ventriloquism with cheap puppets, hellish Saturday night quiz shows, the Brian Rogers Connection and Robin Askwith… Welcome to television in the UK, circa 78- 95. This, readers, was the not- so golden era of lightContinue reading “The End Of The End Of The Pier, As We Knew It”
TV Review: Small Prophets
Michael Sleep (Pearce Quigley) is a man living life on pause. His girlfriend Clea went missing on Christmas Eve seven years ago, and never returned. He’s unable to move on and stuck in a literal dead end (a suburban Manchester cul-de-sac). Working in a DIY store, where he cracks wise with his one friend KaseyContinue reading “TV Review: Small Prophets”
Hit The North 