Following on from last year’s Boybands Forever documentary, produced by Louis Theroux and Nancy Strang, comes the sister companion Girlbands Forever. And it’s equally as fascinating, yet pretty flawed. Suga(babes) and Spice (Girls) is all very nice, but of course, as with the previous three part series, the reality was anything but. As before, ex-bandContinue reading “TV Review: Girlbands Forever”
Tag Archives: TV
Overlooked Classics: Flowers (Series 1, 2016)
‘ You Don’t…Shoot… Family. Everyone knows that! “ Imagine if Wes Anderson made work that was manic depressive instead of…well, just manic. That’s halfway to understanding the delightfully warped, hermetically – sealed world of Flowers. Whitten by, directed by and starring Will Sharpe, the programme is wonderful, holding up well after nearly a decade, withContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: Flowers (Series 1, 2016)”
TV Review: What It Feels Like For A Girl
All television is not created equally. Adapted from trans writer and activist Paris Lees’ memoir, and directed by Brian Welsh, Ng Choon Ping and Marie Kristiansen, What It Feels Like For A Girl is absolutely wonderful, a unique account of lived experience. It’s as raw as love bites, hilarious and often heartbreaking. I watched theContinue reading “TV Review: What It Feels Like For A Girl”
Latvia Were Robbed…
Gutted. Latvian entry for last night’s Eurovision Song Contest, Tautumeitas, barely scraped into the top ten, but I thought they were genuinely brilliant. They looked like sexy alien goddesses styled by HR Giger, the staging looked like a show by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, and the gorgeous song, Bur Man Laimi, felt like a folkContinue reading “Latvia Were Robbed…”
The Queen Is Dead, Long Live The Queen
James Lee Williams, who has sadly passed away aged just thirty two, was a brilliant all-rounder. The Vivienne, his drag queen alter ego named after legendary designer Vivienne Westwood, was the epitome of Scouse fierceness: witty, no-nonsense and extremely smart. I saw them perform in Drag Race UK Live in 2019 (they were the firstContinue reading “The Queen Is Dead, Long Live The Queen”
Why Series 4 (2022) of Drag Race UK Is My Favourite
Not all drag queens are created alike. RuPaul’s Drag Race was in danger of becoming a little bit safe, until she (legendary queen RuPaul Charles) and the producers (World Of Wonder) sent it to the UK. No judgment, but to me, it felt like our American sisters on their shows were more about looks, glamourContinue reading “Why Series 4 (2022) of Drag Race UK Is My Favourite”
TV Review: Boybands Forever
“Fame, fame, fatal fame”, The Smiths once sang, “It can play hideous tricks on the brain”. They weren’t wrong- fame can indeed be a poisoned chalice. Louis Theroux and Nancy Strang’s excellent three -part documentary series about the boyband phenomenon of the nineties and early noughties explores the highs; lows, scandals, meltdowns and exploitation bubblingContinue reading “TV Review: Boybands Forever”
Overlooked Classics: Monkey Dust
Monkey Dust could be the darkest animation ever shown on TV. Forget cats called Fritz, Cartman and co or even Quagmire on the vastly overrated Family Guy, this was brutal. Created by the truly warped minds of Harry Thompson and Shaun Pye, characters such as the Meat Safe Murderer, Pretentious Hipsters and Paedophile Finder GeneralContinue reading “Overlooked Classics: Monkey Dust”
How Sharon Needles Transformed Drag Race
Once upon a time, there was a new entertainment franchise called Ru Paul’s Drag Race. Now, this little TV show was a little bit of a risk, because drag as reality TV concept hadn’t yet quite taken off: too subversive to be mainstream and too niche to be ‘normal ‘. The money wasn’t quite thereContinue reading “How Sharon Needles Transformed Drag Race”
How Jennifer Coolidge Became A Queer Icon
Jennifer, Oh Jenny!There was always more to her than just a MILF. Jennifer Coolidge, the sixty two year old icon of the silver screen, became one of Time magazine’s recipients of “100 most influential people” last year, which is proof of her longevity as a comic actor, but also a Hollywood legend who still getsContinue reading “How Jennifer Coolidge Became A Queer Icon”