September 2007 Archives

Dancing with the Stars (Friday 8pm, UKTV Gold)

With Strictly Come Dancing limbering up for a new season, UKTV Gold brings us the American spin on this ever-popular format. Among the celebs you’ll find Jane Seymour (still looking fabulous), 90210 refugee Jennie Garth, Marie Osmond (gasp!) and Melanie (Scary Spice) Brown.

The IT Crowd (Friday 10pm, C4)

I’ve enjoyed this series much more than first time out, so I’m sad to see it leave the schedules at the end of the second series. There’s a lesson to be learnt here that just because something is rubbish at first, doesn’t mean the producers can’t learn from the experience and put out a decent second attempt. Will Jen leave the boys behind when she gets appointed as Douglas’s PA and, more importantly, will we get a third series?

Not Going Out (Friday 10pm, BBC1)

Work with me here, eh? Until the impending arrival of Ugly Betty and the new series of Rebus next week, I’m casting about for something halfway decent to watch tonight. And this is about the best I can do – sadly, reheated French and Saunders doesn’t quite cut it.

Strictly Come Dancing (Saturday 6pm, BBC1)

Tess and Brucie are back, but things don’t start properly until next week as this is a preview show of the contest ahead. There’s lots of backstage stuff here, and profiles of the celebrities taking part this year.

Casualty (Saturday 8.35pm, BBC1)

Surely this uprise in the fortunes of Casualty can’t last. The start of this series has made me remember just how great this show used to be, and it goes beyond the new, darker look to proceedings. Casualty has actually started concentrating on drama and story again, and this week, we focus on Guppy who has some decisions about the future to make when he is involved in an accident on a train. Good stuff, but not as good as Holby. Obviously!

The National Movie Awards (Saturday 9.30pm, ITV1)

Eh? Can somebody please explain the point of this, please? ITV has been trying to get an annual movie awards show off the ground for years, and it always stalls. I don’t see this improving the situation any. It all seems so pointless, even with the smooth Alexander Armstrong on hosting duties. We have the Baftas, so can we file this under Redundant as soon as humanly possible?

Bremner, Bird and Fortune (Sunday 7pm, C4)

An hour seems an overly long stretch for Bremner and co’s particular brand of satire – a half hour slot would sharpen the bite somewhat. However, this is always going to be well-written, well-observed stuff, and in the current political climate, a welcome return to the schedules.

Celebrity Wife Swap (Sunday 8pm, C4)

I was hoping that RDF might have secreted some footage of the Queen in here, but sadly it was not to be. Instead we get Pete Burns and partner, Michael, swapping places with ex-footie star Neil Ruddock (aka Razor) and his other half. With hilarious results. The term celebrity being used here in the loosest sense of the word.

Agatha Christie’s Marple (Sunday 9pm, ITV1)

Look, it’s quite simple. Poirot is called Poirot, right? Miss Marple is called Miss Marple. Stop trying to franchise Christie, okay? Despite the fact this naming misnomer irritates the hell out of me, these adaptations of the Miss Marple stories are great fun, although they never approach the greatness of the Joan Hickson outings. Ordeal by Innocence features the sleuth attending a wedding, but naturally, as events unfold, she finds a houseful of secrets and danger. Denis Lawson, Alison Steadman and Jane Seymour guest-star.

One of the reasons why TV listings magazines continue to sell so well, when all other sectors of the magazine publishing industry find it an increasingly competitive environment, is that taking in what’s on at a certain time of day is so much easier on paper.

Open up the print edition of the Radio Times, for example, and you easily what’s on TV tomorrow evening on the top five channels, complete with programme summaries and limited production credits. Ever since the magazine’s latest redesign, you can also see summaries of the primetime schedules for some of the bigger digital channels.

Even in print, the method of listing each channel’s schedule as a vertical column is far from ideal, though, especially now that most households have access to digital television with far too many channels to comfortably fit side-by-side in print.

26th September 1987. A date of severe cultural importance rivalled by no other. Yes, this was the date that The Chuckle Brothers arrived on children’s television. And, 20 years later, which must be something of a mystery, they’re still there.

Although Radio Times still has a schedule showing for the next few days at least, it appears that ABC1 has shut down completely. It was known that the Disney-owned channel would be leaving Freeview, but apparently the decision has been made to shut down across all platforms. The website merely says:

We regretfully announce that Walt Disney Television will no longer be transmitting abc1 on any of the UK TV platforms (Freeview, cable or satellite) after September 2007. Walt Disney Television would like to thank its viewers for watching the channel and interacting with the website. It’s been a great few years and we appreciate your viewership.

Ah, well. We’ll have to go elsewhere for the umpteenth rerun of 8 Simple Rules from now on…

After allegations of irregularities in phone voting in 2005, ITV1 announced last week that it will not be broadcasting the 2007 British Comedy Awards.

Now, MediaGuardian is reporting that Channel 4 is poised to transmit the show, after BBC1 controller Peter Fincham turned down the programme rights.

ITV’s decision not to air this year’s awards stem from public phone votig for the People’s Choice awards. While the first half of the awards ceremony was broadcast live, after a break for the news the programme was transmitted on a delayed ‘as live’ basis. In July, The Sun alleged that people were still being asked to phone in to vote for the People’s Choice award even though the prize had already been presented to Ant and Dec.

While ITV declined to transmit this year’s awards during an investigation into the allegations, it’s understood that they want to show the awards from 2008 onwards. Last year’s ceremony was seen by 5 million viewers and a 23% share of the audience over the 90 minutes from 9pm.

Via SFX’s RSS feed comes information on Terrifying Torchwood.

PJ Hammond, who created the excellent Sapphire and Steel and wrote Small Worlds for series 1 of Torchwood, has blabbed a little about the story he’s written for the show’s second series.

Warning: Possible spoilers ahead…

Some are in. Some are out. Thankfully no soap stars have been shaking it all about recently, but it’s probably just a matter of time.

Yes, it’s all go in Soapland. Your intrepid TV Today correspondent has just about recovered from Monday evening’s Inside Soap Awards, and much fun was had by all.

So Channel 3 breakfast broadcaster GMTV has now been fined a record £2 million for what Ofcom says “could not… be described as anything other than gross negligence”.

Ofcom uncovered four different types of misconduct relating to GMTV’s premium rate phone lines, which were managed by Opera Telecom:

• From August 2003 to May 2005, competition lines would remain open until midnight, with twenty finalists selected, one of whom would be chosen on air the following day. However, Opera staff were regularly selecting the finalists between 9pm and 11pm, ensuring that anybody that paid to enter after the draw time, but before the lines closed, had no chance of ever winning.

• From May 2005 to August 2006, the competitions changed so that the lines closed at 9am. Twenty finalists would be selected, out of which one winner would selected ‘out of the hat’. However, GMTV and Opera agreed that 15 of the finalists would be selected at 8:30am, with a final five being selected from calls placed between 8:30am and 9am. This meant the chance of winning was considerably reduced for anyone entering the competition after 8:30am.

• From May 2005 to August 2006 (i.e., at the same time as the ‘15/5’ rule agreed between GMTV and Opera above), Opera were sending over the list of the final five finalists before the lines closed at 9am, ensuring that some entrants had no chance of winning at all.

• From June 2005 to February 2007, Opera workers were regularly selecting winners before they ended their shift at 8am. Opera’s GMTV account manager would then ‘top up’ the list of finalists with randomly selected names before sending the list to GMTV.

Interesting news from the BBC, with a fairly severe change in format for Strictly Come Dancing, moving the results show to Sunday evenings — which, with the Monday to Friday Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two, means that SCD fans will have a new fix of ballroom dancing every day of the week.

There are some major changes to the format as a result — more of that after the jump…

Although it came after Musicality, which has good claim to be the original musical theatre reality show, it was the BBC’s How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? which turned the selection process over to the public and triggered a series of similar shows, most successfully Any Dream Will Do.

Now, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has become the latest to buy the format from the BBC, and like the original series, will be looking for a new Maria von Trapp. To be shown in Summer 2008, the theatre production duties will be handled by Mirvish Productions.

Expect the hype for new TV channel Virgin 1 to start ramping up over the next week, in preparation for its launch next Monday, October 1.

The channel’s website has gone into preview mode right now, with a video embodying the slogan “No soaps, no makeovers, no nonsense, just proper telly”. So far, their programming seems to consist of mainly US imports — opening night launches with the UK premiere of The Riches, starring Brits Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver as con artists, for example (see Rob Buckley’s verdict on the first three episodes). Later on, the channel will be showing Terminator spin-off The Sarah Connor Chronicles, starring Summer “River off Firefly” Glau and Thomas “Zach off Heroes” Dekker.

The new series of The Simpsons started in America this week. Of course, since the last series ended we’ve had The Simpsons Movie, which disrupted events in Springfield far more than an average episode does.

The opening titles for the first in the new series reflect that. Warning: don’t watch this if you haven’t seen the film yet:

[via TV & Satellite Week]

But wait — there’s more…

The BBC Trust have given their provision backing to a permanent high-definition channel on satellite and cable — with a few provisos.

After Ofcom published its Market Impact Assessment [PDF] saying that it didn’t believe an HD channel for the BBC would have a negative impact on the competition, the Trust had to decide whether the BBC would actually be providing a public service by creating the channel. Their provisional conclusion is that it will.

The trial BBC HD channel which currently runs on cable and satellite will, in effect, now become permanent. However, if the BBC wanted to provide HD over Freeview now, rather than waiting until switchover is complete in 2012, it would only be able to provide a four-hour schedule broadcasting between 2am and 6am every morning. The capacity for this interim HD broadcast would only be available by closing BBC Parliament, BBC Four and three BBCi streams during those hours.

Another problem exists with this arrangement: if the BBC wanted to be able to provide the same nine-hour HD service on Freeview after switchover as it does on cable and satellite, viewers will have to buy a different set-top box to be able to pick it up.

The Sarah Jane Adventures (Monday 5pm, BBC1)

Forget the bloated Torchwood, this is the Doctor Who spin-off we’ve all been waiting for! Elisabeth Sladen returns as the ageless Sarah Jane Smith, a character I’ve been watching on the box since 1974 (and she looks younger than me), and the fact she now has her own series gives me a real thrill. After the excellent Invasion of the Bane at Christmas, this two-parter is joyously written by Gareth Roberts as Sarah and her teen sidekicks investigate strange goings-on at the local school, where it turns out the Slitheen (they of the flatulent tendencies from Doctor Who) are hatching a deadly plan. It’s fast, funny, frightening and shares more in common with the parent series than Torchwood ever could. Just one request: where the heck is K9?

Doc Martin (Monday 9pm ITV1)

The sleepy comedy drama returns for a new run, with Martin Clunes as the grumpy GP. It’s all business as usual (which usually means not very much) in the sleepy Cornish village, and I’m often bewildered as to why this is so popular. Seven episodes to go of same old, same old, but Clunes makes it almost worth tuning in. Just.

Prison Break (Monday 10pm, Sky One)

Showing right on the tail of the American airings for this third series, Prison Break is back behind bars after being snatched from Five by Sky One. Ah well, they get Neighbours so it’s all swings and roundabouts. It’s a new prison, with Michael now in the slammer in Panama with his formerly banged up bro Lincoln having to do the freeing thing. It’s all a bit overblown, to be honest, but it’s undeniably watchable at a level, and fans will be pleased to see it back.

Tribe (Tuesday 9pm, BBC2)

Last in the current series as Brice Parry goes in search of the last remaining Penan tribe in the jungles of Borneo. Always great TV, this one seems a little more affecting than others due to the plight of the tribe.

Gavin and Stacey (Tuesday 10pm, BBC2)

As you know, we love G&S at TV Today, and this final episode contains everything that’s great about the series, and provides a great pay-off if you’ve been there since the beginning. It’s the wedding day, and while there’s no doubt that the wedding will take place, there’s still the question of what happened between Uncle Bryn and Stacey’s brother, and whether Smithy will stay sober enough to deliver his best man’s speech. Brilliant.

Heroes (Wednesday 9pm, BBC2)

A double-bill of Heroes action, and it’s all ticking along quite nicely. Doctor Who fans should pay attention tonight as waywardly brief Time Lord Christopher Eccleston makes his debut in the series.

Torn (Wednesday 9pm, ITV1)

Second in this rather taut drama about an abducted girl who is returned to her real family 12 years later. But it’s not all sweetness and light and the ripples of Alice’s return spread through the family, not to mention the effect it has on those left behind. Holly Aird, breaking away from Waking the Dead, easily proves her acting chops, and Bradley Walsh also impresses. Concludes next week.

The Whistleblowers (Thursday 9pm, ITV1)

I find Richard Coyle bizarrely irritating, but I’m not going to let that stand in the way of my enjoyment of this Tony Marchant penned drama. Coyle plays top-flight lawyer Ben who, along with colleague Alisha, witnesses something that turns their lives upside down. Together they investigate what they saw, blowing the whistle some dirty dealings. It’s all set up here, leading to our characters setting up a practice to blow the lid on all sorts of goings-on over the coming weeks. Promising.

The Secret Diary of a Call Girl (Thursday 10pm, ITV2)

It seems fitting that in the week Chris Eccleston makes his debut in Heroes, his former partner in time Billie Piper embarks on the latest stage of her stellar career. This is a steamy adaptation of the blog Belle de jour: Diary of a London Call Girl that sees Piper cavorting around in all manner of situations as the titular high class prostitute. Some will hate this, some will be unable to take their eyes of the screen, but it’s worth it for Piper who continues to impress.

Now, I love Spooks as much as the next man. Unless the next man turns out to be my mate Jim, who has written two books about the series, in which case I’m very much playing gooseberry. But still — it’s been consistently one of my favourite shows.

That said, I did get a feeling last series that the format was getting a little tired. There are only so many ways a threat to national security can be played such that everything gets wrapped up nicely in an hour, after all — and at times it seemed as if the whole series was degrading into a more heavily budgeted version of Bugs. While the introduction of Hermione Norris as the gloriously spiky Ros Myers was welcome, I haven’t been counting the days until series six, I must admit.

Until now. Now, I can’t wait. Because Spooks series six is about to get a makeover.

Instead of standalone episodes, we’ll get a single ten-episode story, plunging our favourite MI5 operatives at the heart of a global operation that will encompass the UK, the USA and Iran. At the start of the series, Zaf (Raza Jaffrey) will be working undercover in Tehran, attempting to place a bomb on a civilian train in an effort to flush out a spy. Meanwhile, Adam (Rupert Penry-Jones) is having an affair with a key assent in the Iranian embassy, while Ros finds herself questioning her own ability to carry out the demands of a government she does not support…

The new series, which also sees Gemma Jones (Bridget Jones’s Diary) join as a desk officer to replace the much-missed Ruth, seems intent on examining the sort of issues which are dominating the headlines once again. And while it no longer enjoys episodes penned by Howard Brenton, the writing team for the new series — Neil Cross, Rupert Walters, David Farr, Zinnie Harris, George Tiffin and Ben Richards — will hopefully be able to provide some high-octane thrills.

Now, let’s hope that Rogue Spooks doesn’t undo their hard work…

We’ve been leading up to today with a week of features as part of High School Musical week on TV Today: the behind-the-scenes video podcast, interviews with high flying Disney Channel executives, information on see High School Musical on stage — or even act in it yourself and an interview with Kelsi Nielsen, aka actress Olesya Rulin.

But the big question remains — is High School Musical 2 any good?

[For those who need the warning, the review below contains spoilers]

High School Musical Disney Channel, Friday 6pm (repeated throughout the weekend)
Yes, it’s finally here — the record-breaking sequel to the record-breaking TV movie. There’ll be a fuller review in a Square Eyes special later today, but for now, let’s just say it’s annoyingly infectious while never quite reaching the warm innocence of its predecessor.

EastEnders BBC1, Friday 8pm
So who has been tormenting Ian with the suggestion that dead ex-wife Cindy might actually be alive? He finds out tonight…

A Bucket o’ French and Saunders BBC1, Friday 9pm The problem with the hybrid clip-show-plus-new-sketches format is that, while the trips down memory lane are able to cherry pick highlights, the new elements are just as patchy as ever, and look mighty inferior as a result. Still, the sight of Dawn French as a gurning Andrew Lloyd Webber (a sketch already available on the BBC’s YouTube channel) demonstrates that the pair can, on occasion, reach the point of genius again.

QI BBC2, Friday 9pm
It seems like far too long since the last series of this gloriously highbrow comedy quiz, but here we are at last with a fifth run. Quizmaster Stephen Fry dispenses dry, off-the-cuff humour like nobody else on the planet, while Alan Davies revels in his status of one who “rushes headlong like a puppy into the wall of ignorance.”

Factory: Manchester from Joy Division to Happy Mondays BBC4, Friday 9pm
This story of Factory Records isn’t a full obituary of the late Tony Wilson, but it does celebrate his character and that of the city he loved.

The World’s Greatest Elvis BBC1, Saturday 6.55pm and 9.30pm
A curio in the pantheon of Saturday evening talent shows, as Vernon Kay hosts a competition to find the best Elvis tribute artist (ETA for short). Just pointing it out so that you can avoid it.

How to be a Good Prime Minister BBC4, Saturday 7pm
It’s just as well that the BBC Trust have ruled out closing BBC4 as part of its cost cutting, as recently there have been nights where I would happily watch nothing else. Saturday is a case in point: this look at what it takes to be a good premier is followed by three examples of the channel’s best: The Thick of It Special: Spinners and Losers, Charlie Brooker’s Screenwipe Guide to TV (a repeat of Tuesday’s show, itself a compilation of best bits from Screenwipe itself) and Flight of the Conchords Special, first shown on Tuesday as a prelude to the full series that starts next week.

Nureyev: from Russia With Love BBC2, Saturday 9.30pm
A fascinating look at the life of one of the world’s greatest ballet dancers, specifically covering the period before he defected in 1961. Featuring never-before-seen footage shot by Nureyev’s lover Teja Kremke, this is a must-see for anyone with even a passing interest in the performing arts.

Elton John: Me, Myself & I ITV1, Saturday 9.40pm
The musical legend looks back at his own life. The publicity for the show emphasises that modern technology will be used to “transport Elton back in time”, so this is unlikely to be your standard talking heads video. Notably, it’s directed by James Strong, who these days is more accustomed to directing Ood, Daleks and Kylie Minogue in Doctor Who, so if Elton’s notoriously monstrous temper shows up he should be well prepared…

Agatha Christie’s Marple: At Bertram’s Hotel ITV1 Sunday 9pm
If you want an accurate and authentic adaptation of the books, stick with Joan Hickson reruns on UKTV Drama (The Body in the Library is on Saturday at 2pm, while at the same time on Sunday you can see Hickson’s version of At Bertram’s Hotel). ITV’s version, dramatised by Tom MacRae takes numerous liberties with the script, including creating a role for Martine McCutcheon as a cheery Cockney hotel maid. As ever, Geraldine McEwan is delightful as the spinster sleuth, but I can’t help feeling she deserves a better vehicle.

Stuart: a Life Backwards BBC2 Sunday 9pm
Alexander Masters has dramatised his own biography of Stuart Shorter, a homeless alcoholic he befriended, with tremendous sensitivity. Benedict Cumberbatch (Hawking, To the Ends of the Earth) stars as Masters, but it’s Tom Hardy (Cape Wrath) who makes Stuart, and the drama as a whole, stand out. Over on the Guardian’s TV blog, Alexander Masters writes about the techniques involved in adapting his book for the screen.

As part of our ongoing High School Musical week, this animation features characters from animated series Lilo and Stitch dancing along to We’re All In This Together from the first film:

• High School Musical 2, Friday 6pm, Disney Channel

As the name for a channel goes, UKTV G2 has not only been a bit of a mouthful (all those capital letters!), but always felt as if it was playing second fiddle to an as-yet-unseen other channel (where is UKTV G1?)

So it didn’t come as much surprise to hear that UKTV is to rebrand G2 next month.

What did come as a surprise is the channel’s new name.

Dave.

Yes. You saw that correctly. Dave. (Reports that it was going to called a variant on the word ‘Puss’ should maybe be dismissed right now.)

Below is the first look at its online identity:

But here at TV Today, we think they missed a trick. Surely they’d just need to acquire the rights to rerun The League of Gentlemen?

In what surely must go down as one of the most bizarre elements of the recent discussions of TV fakery, the misnaming of the Blue Peter cat. Reports emerged yesterday that an online vote to determine the name of the new feline had been overruled by the production team, who felt that the winning name was not appropriate.

Of course, as soon as the words “not appropriate” were bandied about in realtion to a kids’ show, imaginations went into overdrive. The Times reported coyly that the chosen name had been a variant on Puss. Unfortunately, the paper’s accuracy seems to be as dodgy as the Blue Peter team’s decision making, as it was revealed today that the rejected name was “Cookie”.

Cookie.

[stares hard]

No, no, I can’t see anything wrong with it either. If you can work out why the name is unacceptable, answers on a postcard please to tvtoday@thestage.co.uk. (The Stage reserves the right to ignore the results and make something else up instead. What’s sauce for the goose…)

Anyway, the BBC is to make another on-air apology, and introduce a new kitten named Cookie to the show, when the new series of Blue Peter starts on Monday.

This, and further editorial breaches, were confirmed today when director general Mark Thompson met the increasingly-ironically-named BBC Trust. In reply, the Trust has said that it a culture has developed within the BBC Executive where “knowledge of and adherence to the BBC’s editorial guidelines was inadequate”:

The Trust is clear that these cases arose not because of an individual’s desire for personal gain, but because of some programme-makers’ misguided belief that those decisions… were more important than honesty and fairness to the audience.

Had the BBC editorial guidelines already been complied with, none of these breaches would have occurred.

One silver lining to come out of this cloud is the commissioning of a major new online project which will, in Thompson’s words, “enable the public to explore how contemporary media content is produced. The BBC believes this will be a major contribution to media literacy in Britain.” The project is being overseen by Roly Keating, controller of BBC2, and Chris Burns, executive editor of factual programmes.

Russia-born Olesya Rulin made her name in High School Musical as Kelsi Nielsen, the “sawn-off Sondheim” who composed the school’s winter musical Twinkletowne. In the sequel, Kelsi fulfils a similar role, composing songs for the other cast to sing — but she also gets to exercise her own vocal talents. I met her at the UK press launch of High School Musical 2.

How did you get into acting?

I used to be really shy when I was younger. I moved to America when I was eight, and was a little bit inhibited. It was a brand new language, a brand new culture, and I sort of got stuck in this little shell. When I was around eleven, my mother said, “That’s it! That’s enough of the shyness!” Because I used to shut myself up in my room, I read a lot and was kind of nerdy. She made me go to Model Search America — they go to malls and pick out kids, and whoever wins goes into this competition. Anyway, I got picked and flew out to Seattle, got representation and met some agents, and it kind of went from there. I did some auditioning, did a little modelling, and ended up loving what my mom initially introduced me to.

How would you say your role of Kelsi develops in the new film?

I think Kelsi is definitely the ‘floater’ of the group. You know, she is part of the musical theatre crowd, so can talk with Sharpay and Ryan on that level, but she’s also friendly with all the Wildcats. From her point of view, she gets to find her place by being more confident, and realising that she gets to watch and observe all of these big dramas.

In High School Musical 2, you get to sing a brief solo, and then a duet with Vanessa Anne Hudgens, [at the beginning of ‘You Are The Music In Me’]. Was getting something to sing something you were really pushing for in he sequel?

Not at all — it was a complete surprise when I got the music and saw that I’d be singing on my own! I don’t really think of myself as a singer, so I was really nervous. But Vanessa and everybody were so great and so supportive.

After your experiences in these films, do you fancy moving into musical theatre on stage?

Well, I’m a film girl at heart, and that’s where my interest lies. I’d love to learn more about theatre, though. And it’s been great to be around people who know so much, I’ve really learnt a lot already. Alyson Reed [the Broadway star, who plays Ms. Darbus in the High School Musical films] is great to watch — she always knows exactly where to stand to catch her light and look her best. That’s something that’s always good to know!

High School Musical 2 airs tomorrow (Friday) at 6pm Disney Channel.

After the competition to get your graffiti tag daubed on the Chatsworth Estate, the makers of Shameless are now offering a walk-on part as a competition prize to a member of the public.

To be in with a chance, you have to be registered with MySpace and then leave a comment on Shameless’s MySpace profile explaining why you should win the walk-on role. Say the competition organisers:

Extra credit will be given to people adding MySpace profile pictures of themselves dressed as one of the characters from the hit programme. The competition closes on the 24th September.

Full terms and conditions are available on the Channel 4 site.

Of course, being a walk-on is a regular, if not full-time, job for many people. And while Ricky Gervais’ Extras did its best to rid any perceptions of the world of background artists as being glamorous, it’s still something that many people aspire to.

If you want to consider earning money as an extra, read the How To… Be An Extra guide in our Advice section.

Er, yes, I know I promised one article a day. Oops. Just think of Thursday morning as Wednesday, and you’ll have something fresh and new this evening — an interview with Olesya Rulin, who plays composer Kelsi Nielsen. And then tomorrow, we’ll have a review of High School Musical 2.

Anyway, as Rob Gilby mentioned in Tuesday’s interview:

I guess the ultimate in the UK has been the more than 300 amateur productions which have been licensed to schools and amateur production groups. So they can not only own a piece of the fun, they can be it. They can be Troy and Gabriella. I wish we’d had that when I was a kid, because I would have been in there!

The professional version of High School Musical - Live on Stage! tours from January 2008:

• Churchill Bromley, January 23-February 2 2008
• Regent Stoke-On-Trent February 4-9
• Theatre Royal Norwich February 11-16
• Playhouse Edinburgh February 19-March 1
• Grand Wolverhampton March 10-15
• New Victoria Woking March 17-29
• Hippodrome Birmingham May 26-June 7
• Milton Keynes Theatre Milton Keynes June 9-14
• New Wimbledon London June 16-21
• Palace Manchester June 23-July 5

But what if your school or amateur group want to put on the show? You’ll need to get the performance rights before you can start planning auditions, rehearsals and performances. Licensing is handled by Josef Weinberger.

There is a note attached to the page for High School Musical that because of the professional tour, “only licences for performances by schools or on school premises are likely to be approved at this time”. It may be worth enquiring, though, even if your group doesn’t fit these requirements.

The stage musical as written has parts for six males and five females (including two adults to play Coach Bolton and Ms Darbus), as well as a chorus. Weinberger’s HSM page has links to companies that may able to provide set and/or costume hire if you’re not able to provide your own.

More details on how to apply for a licence can be found on this page.

If you’re planning to be a Troy or Gabriella (or even, if you must, a Sharpay), then break a leg!

It’s Day 2 of TV Today’s High School Musical week, with a HSM-related post every day until Friday, when High School Musical 2 premieres in the UK on Disney Channel.

Today, here’s an exclusive interview with Rob Gilby, managing director of Disney Channel UK, and Gary Marsh, President, Entertainment, Disney Channel Worldwide. Portions of Rob’s responses formed an interview we featured in print a couple of weeks ago, and I’ve left out a small segment that we have already covered concerning Disney’s attitude to iTunes.

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High School Musical 2 has already become a phenomenal success in the US, where it’s become the highest-rated basic cable telecast ever. Were you expecting it to be that big?

Gary Marsh: With the first one, we knew we’d made a terrific movie. You can’t possibly program a phenomenon, it has to be discovered by people. What’s so wonderful about High School Musical 1 is that people made it their own. It’s not that we marketed it in an extreme fashion, which is a misperception. People found it, and owned it themselves. It was a fresh experience and a novel discovery for people. I think that’s what enabled it to become such a phenomenon. It came became part of their lives, rather tha n us telling them they should pay attention to it.

On High School Musical 2, we knew there was something brewing just by the buzz. We had heard anecdotally about viewing parties, about ten, twenty people gathering to watch HSM. We heard about a mall in Cleveland where they set up lawn chairs and sleeping bags. Five hundred people came to watch in the centre of the mall. So when you start to hear those sort of stories anecdotally, you start to get a sense that this is something larger than your standard television broadcast.

With the first film, you then produced a singalong and dancealong versions. Are you going to be doing the same thing [for HSM2]?

GM: We will have that, and more! Again, it’s really part of the phenomenon. People want to embrace it in multiple ways. Our opportunity is to give them that.

With High School Musical 2 about to grace the nation’s TV screens (well, if you’ve got Sky, Virgin, or Tiscali TV) on Friday, every day this week TV Today will be bringing you some HSM-related goodness for your delectation, culminating with a review of the new film on Friday.

The Disney Channel has, as you can imagine, been promoting the hell out of the forthcoming show. One of the ways it has been doing so has been the series The Road to High School Musical, a series of short behind-the-scenes features showing the actors and choreographers hard at work. As with most electronic press kits, the interviews themselves are quite anodyne, but you can’t help but be impressed by the sheer scale of some of the dance numbers.

The best thing is that if you’ve missed the features when they’ve been broadcast on television, they’re available as a video podcast via iTunes. From the podcast’s home page in the iTunes directory, you can download any of the 10 episodes (click on the ‘get episode’ link beside the episode you want to view, and it will download into the Podcasts section of your iTunes library). Theoretically, you can subscribe to the podcast, but as there aren’t any future episodes to come, you won’t necessarily get any benefit from that.

For your convenience, here are the ten episodes detailed:

1. We’re back!
2. Doing it Together
3. High School Musical 2 in action
4. Make a Wish!
5. Zac Efron interview
6. Vanessa Hudgens interview
7. Corbin Bleu interview
8. Ashley Tisdale interview
9. Monique Coleman interview
10. Lucas Grabeel interview

Parents should note that, while podcasts are free, the iTunes podcast directory is part of the iTunes Store. If you have turned off access to the store in the ‘parental controls’ section of iTunes’ preferences, you’ll need to turn it on in order to download the videos. Once downloaded, though, you can switch the parental controls back on and still watch the downloaded videos.

Hindenburg Monday 9pm Channel 4
Newsreel footage of the famous airship crashing in flames remains one of the most recognisable scenes from the early twentieth century. American radio reporter Herbert Morrison’s infamous expression of “Oh, the humanity!” has become a byword for over-exaggerated outpourings of emotion — but, as this drama-documentary shows, the Hindenburg’s final voyage, and the death of its 96 passengers, needed no exaggeration. Made to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the disaster, Malcolm Tierney, Mark McGann and Michael Praed star.

Clive James Talking in the Library: Victoria Wood Wednesday 7.30pm Sky Arts
This normally genial collection of arts conversations (archives of which are available via James’ own website or as a video podcast in iTunes) turns to one of Britain’s favourite comedians and writers. For the most part it’s illuminating, although Wood does turn prickly as James continually harks back to her Northern roots.

Heroes Wednesday 9pm BBC2
After last week’s blood and gore as Peter managed to save the cheerleader, we step back in time, as Hiro travels back six months to try and save waitress Charlie. We also get a good look at what life was like for the characters before we first met them. A welcome breath before the series gather steam for the second half of the season.

Torn Wednesday 9pm ITV1
Holly Aird and Adam Kotz star as Sarah and David a couple who lose their four-year-old daughter, Alice, while on a beach holiday. Eleven years later, Sarah becomes obsessed with the idea that 15-year-old Lori may in fact be Alice, all grown up… With Nicola Walker and Bradley Walsh as Lori’s other parents, this three-part ITV1 drama is suspenseful stuff.

Primo Thursday 10pm BBC4
Back in 2004, The Stage’s Peter Hepple reviewed the National Theatre’s Primo (an adaptation of Primo Levi’s memoir, If This Is a Man) saying “Jewish [Anthony] Sher is obviously the right man to interpret Levi’s words and feelings. The fact that he is also gay, which Levi wasn’t, adds another layer of understanding about life in this appalling place.” Sher and director Richard Wilson reunite for this television version. Thought-provoking, uncompromising and wise, Primo is possibly the best piece of television you’ll see this year.

Today former controller of BBC1 daytime, Jay Hunt, starts her new job as director of programmes for Five. She replaces Dan Chambers, who left in October. One of her first jobs, according to Broadcast, is to find a long-running drama for the channel.

Five has occasionally dipped its feet into original drama, most notably with Ecosse Films’ two-part Kitchen, starring Eddie Izzard, and **Perfect Day, which started out as a one-off drama before gaining two additional plays to become a trilogy. Then there was the six-part backpacking drama Tripping Over, an idea which looked good on paper but even by its second episode was being beaten in the ratings by BBC3.

Hunt’s boss, managing director of content Lisa Opie, said at the Edinburgh TV festival that such short-run dramas didn’t really stick in the eyes of the audience, and that she is looking for a long-running series which could consist of up to forty hours of programming a year.

If Opie and Hunt go ahead, it’ll be the channel’s first original long-running drama since Family Affairs was axed in 2005. But is it wise for Five to put all its drama eggs in one basket? A long run of a peak time drama will surely sit more comfortably alongside Five’s imported slate of CSI, House, Grey’s Anatomy, Prison Break, et al, but at the same time a forty-hour commission would be near on twice the length of any of these shows. And, given that Five will not have access to the budgets that its US imports can command, one must question whether any comparisons would work in a UK commission’s favour.

Would it be wiser to commission two, maybe three, shorter series with a view to renewing at least one if they prove successful? Or should Five bite the bullet and go for a longer-length series, hoping to pick up a soap-like following? Indeed, could the channel support another soap, given that Home and Away will shortly be joined by Neighbours?

These are the questions that Jay Hunt will find herself having to answer over the next few months.

Actor and former Boyzone pop moppet Stephen Gately, currently touring the UK with Godspell, has been interviewed by This Is Lancashire. As a former West End Joseph, he was asked for his opinion on the current show and its method of selecting the star:

I think Lee is going to be really good, but I’m not 100 per cent sure about him even though he has a great voice. I thought Ben was really cute and he could have played the role with a lot of innocence. And I liked Craig too, but he has the looks but not the voice. I think overall those kind of shows are a really good way for actors who have been on the scene for years to get their break.

That’s a comment that’s likely to get the Loppies talking, if nothing else…

A Bucket O’ French and Saunders (Friday 9pm, BBC1)

Oh go on then. It’s not like there’s a great deal of anything else on.

Phoenix Nights (Friday 9pm, C4)

A blissful double-bill of comedy from Brian Potter and the gang, as Mr P attempts to find the truth behind the fire that destroyed his beloved Phoenix Club. Was Den Perry and a cigar the cause? This series is much-missed, and when put next to the poor Max and Paddy spin-off, it almost makes you weep with desire to have it back, with Dave Spikey back on writing duties.

Hell’s Kitchen (Friday 10pm, ITV1)

I’ve actually warmed to this series of Hell’s Kitchen more than previous outings, and as the show heads into the final straight over the weekend, it’s worth checking out to see who is still around. Marco Pierre White is highly watchable, and I loathe myself for saying this, but I wouldn’t mind another sitting of Hell’s Kitchen next year.

China’s Terracotta Army (Saturday 8pm, BBC2)

A brilliant piece that follows the people bringing the pieces from China that will make up the British Museum’s The First Emperor: The Chinese Terracotta Army exhibition. Curator Jane Portal travels to China to select the pieces, while Dan Snow provides some historical notes to the creation of the army and its significance. Cracking stuff.

Heroes (Saturday from 9.15pm, BBC2)

The first six episodes tonight, the last three tomorrow. That’s what I call a weekend of catch-up entertainment!

The Most Annoying TV …We Hate to Love (Saturday 9pm, BBC3)

This only lasts an hour, so it’s not as interminable as some list shows, and let’s face it, in a list of TV we know is rubbish but can’t help but like, there’s going to be something for TV Today readers here. And if Rough Diamond isn’t in there, I shall be upset.

Parkinson (Saturday 10.35pm, ITV1)

Michael Parkinson prepares to wrap up his chat career (well, for now at any rate) with the first of a 12 part series. The line-up tonight features Sir David Frost, Michael Palin and Dame Diana Rigg, all talking about their latest projects. If Parky can keep up this quality of guest, he should go out in style. I’ve got a fiver on Billy Connolly turning up on the last edition. And Emu.

The Royal (Sunday 8pm, ITV1)

Dreariness abounds in the ever-predictable The Royal. But then, I like Holby City, so what the heck do I know? My mum loves this, and I guess that’s the point of the exercise and why both The Royal and its parent, Heartbeat, still have a place in the schedules. And with The Royal Today on its way, the brand is only set to get stronger.

Michael Palin’s New Europe (Sunday 9pm, BBC1)

Everybody relax, it’s all going to be all right. The genial Michael Palin returns with a new series of ambling adventures, this time heading into the territory that used to reside behind the Iron Curtain. It’s as fascinating as it always is, and Palin has such an easy manner that he will talk to anybody, and anybody will talk to him. Sundays are good once again.

Drop Dead Gorgeous (Sunday 9pm, BBC3)

After a terrestrial run on BBC1 for the first series of this cracking comedy drama, it’s good to see a second series coming out of BBC3. The cast, as I have noted before, is flawless, with fine performances all round. Ashley’s career receives a boost in this opener, but she flunks her exams and there’s her agent’s civil ceremony to attend. Comedy and drama have rarely mixed so perfectly.

This morning saw the formal unveiling of the fourteen celebrities who will be jiving and waltzing as part of this year’s Strictly Come Dancing, which starts on October 6. It was an oddly muted affair: Bruce Forsyth was absent, as were all four judges. The whole event was structured to ask questions of the new celebrities, but once you realise that so far they’ve each only had three dance lessons, there aren’t that many places to go. Having the dancers more readily available for questioning would maybe have been preferable.

As we’ve so often been doing with the Saturday night entertainment shows, every episode will be reviewed and summarised on the blog, and you’ll be able to add your own comments and discuss amongst yourselves. For now, familiarise yourselves with the actors, TV presenters and sports personalities who’ll be kicking up their heels on the dancefloor:

Alesha Dixon partnered with Matthew Cutler
Asked if her time in girl group Mis-Teeq would be an advantage, Alesha pointed out that she had no dance training — and she tends to go for freestyle dance, which is no help in learning the discipline involved in ballroom dancing.

Brian Capron partnered with Karen Hardy (last year’s winner)
Actor Brian hopes his days of being regarded as evil Richard Hillman are behind him — although he’s sure some may think he has a crowbar down his trousers. Such modesty. Is that related to his comment that this was the one programme that would make his gay friends proud of him?

Dominic Littlewood partnered with Lilia Kopylova
Apparently, TV presenter Dominic was recently on a TV game show, playing (and, by the sounds of it, winning) against Strictly judge Len Goodman and dancer Anton Du Beke. He hopes that his success there won’t turn round and bite him on the live shows.

Gabby Logan partnered with James Jordan
When contracted to ITV, Gabby was famously told she couldn’t do Strictly Come Dancing, but could instead do the not-at-all-similar Dancing on Ice. The ability to take part, she says, wasn’t the reason she left ITV, but it’s a good reason to stay at the BBC.

Gethin Jones partnered with Camilla Dallerup
The Blue Peter presenter says that his time on the CBBC show has put him in good stead for ‘dressing up in strange outfits’. He reckons that, even after three lessons, Strictly is even harder than learning to fly a plane.

John Barnes partnered with Nicole Cutler
Footballer, coach and pundit John has been told that he’s likely to lose some weight in training, which he hopes will suit the tight-fitting costumes better. “Sitting here today, Lycra doesn’t really suit my body… I want to lose weight, I will lose some weight and I need to lose weight!”

Kate Garraway partnered with Anton Du Beke
Asked if she had been taking on any tips from fellow GMTV anchor Fiona Phillips, who lasted just four weeks in Strictly series 3 in 2005, Kate replied that she thought Fiona had been a very good contestant. To which, one of the dancers near me whispered quite loudly, “Was she watching the show?”. They have quite the claws, some of these dancers. Kate did admit that if you thought Fiona was bad, you hadn’t seen anything yet — eliciting a very audible groan from her partner, Anton…

Kelly Brook partnered with Brendan Cole
Kelly says her partner, Billy Zane, did briefly attempt to teach her some dance moves when he was performing in Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks (which was choreographed by Strictly judge, Craig Revel Horwood), but nothing progressed very far. Brendan says she is the first partner he’s had who was not reluctant to learn, unlike Natasha Kiplinsky, Sarah Manners, Fiona Phillips and Claire King.

Kenny Logan partnered with Ola Jordan
Former rugby international Kenny is, of course, married to fellow Strictly dancer Gabby (above) — and, indeed, their respective dance partners, Ola and James, are married also. This could all go so horribly, horribly wrong… “I’m lying in bed at night, thinking, ‘I can’t do this’, and she asks me, ‘What can’t you do?’ When I say, ‘Strictly Come Dancing’, she tells me to shut up and go to sleep!”

Letitia Dean partnered with Darren Bennett
Although she has had training in dance while at the Sylvia Young Theatre School, Letitia is at pains to point out that this was two decades ago, and consisted of ballet, jazz and tap. “I knew from my first lesson that this was ‘proper’ dance,” she says. “I’m aching, and I have blisters and boils!” (“I’ve never wanted you more,” quipped Anton.)

Matt Di’Angelo partnered with Flavia Cacace
Like Letitia, Matt is a Sylvia Young alumnus — strange how nobody picks up on stage school experience for men and assumes it’ll be an advantage (as a questioner did with Letitia, and as the public did last year with Emma Bunton). Hmm. Matt admitted that although he was supposed to keep his involvement in Strictly a secret, he’d pretty much told everyone he knew already — although he’d mainly been talking to last year’s fourth placed contestant, fellow former EastEnder Louisa Lytton.

Penny Lancaster-Stewart partnered with Ian Waite
Penny was not at the press conference, instead electing to remain at her family’s home in Los Angeles to celebrate the birthday of two of her stepchildren with husband Rod Stewart. However, this did allow dancing partner Ian to revel in the only solo entrance of the morning, providing the dictionary definition of ‘milking it’.

Stephanie Beacham partnered with Vincent Simone
While Stephanie may be used to the glamorous dresses from her days on The Colbys, she’s not particularly looking forward to getting back into high heels again. “The clothes are divine, but I’d forgotten about the shoes. I’ve been in heaven in prison [she means for Bad Girls] for four years, and I could wear Ugg boots to work every day…”

Willie Thorne partnered with Erin Boag
Snooker legend Willie has never danced before. He also claims that while people want to see some hip action from the dancers, “I haven’t seen my own hips for ten years, let alone move them… hopefully these dancers will take this ugly duckling and turn him into a swan.”

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Strictly Come Dancing starts on October 6 on BBC1, with the men performing wither a waltz or a cha-cha-cha for the public vote. Week 2 will see all seven women compete with either a quickstep or a rumba. From Week 3, as with previous series, all twelve remaining couples will compete against each other, with the lowest scoring pair dropping out each week.

Nearer the time, we’ll have some other coverage, I’m sure. And of course we’ll have reviews of every show to which you can contribute with your comments.

Starting out as a pilot for ABC back in 2005, Quarterlife, from the minds behind the seminal Thirtysomething, will now debut exclusively on MySpace, before transferring to its own dedicated show website. Quarterlife.com will also form the basis for a new social networking portal that will have roots in the show.

After ABC passed on taking Quarterlife, which follows a group of graduates in Chicago, to a series, Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick have continued to develop the series independently, with no network to report to.

“When [we] did My So-Called Life and Thirtysomething, the network barely gave us any notes. Now I have friends tell me that the network tells them what colour to make the walls.”

Herskovitz has said, the freedom of the pair’s endeavour clearly sitting well with them – could this potentially send out a beacon of hope to other creators feeling similarly frustrated at network interference? Is the Internet starting at last to realize its full potential as an original broadcasting tool and not just a way of keeping up with The Archers or the activities of flame-haired stud Rupert Grint?

Each hour of footage for Quarterlife will be split into several episodes, with an initial plan for 36 episodes to be produced with production values rivaling those of major US network shows (although not , perhaps, budgets). The first episode will debut exclusively on 11th November on Myspace, before transferring to Quarterlife.com on 12 November.

Of course, a handful of shows have debuted on the Internet, most notably Prom Queen, but Quarterlife feels like a significant development in the world of on-line broadcasting, combined with the integration of a social network aspect for “creative people”, although thios concept has previously been used in The L Word.

Is it possible that by the end of the year, Quarterlife will be the buzzword on all our lips? Will it have taken over the world and thrown off the constraints of television production to usher in a new era? Time, as always, will tell, but TV Today will be watching closely to see what happens.

I don’t know about you, but I sense a change is on the horizon for this business we call TV, and Quarterlife could be it!

As my last post was a bit ranty and serious, here’s something altogether lighter: the BBC News theme as dissected by Bill Bailey:

Thanks to Ben Hammersley for the link.

As part of ITV executive chairman Michael Grade’s big speech today about the broadcaster’s long term strategy, he said that the company aimed to save between £35m and £40m by merging regional newsrooms.

Under the plan, which will have to be approved by regulator Ofcom, the current 17 newsrooms around the UK would be reduced to nine. Only Wales, London and the North West would be unaffected. For everyone else, the plans will mean that the likelihood of “their” regional news programme featuring stories near to where they live goes down somewhat.

I have some experience of what that would be like already: I live in an area of Buckinghamshire which, in terrestrial signals terms, gets its TV signals from the Oxford transmitter. For many years, our local news was Central South, which covered Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, as well as areas slightly further west. In 2006, this region merged with a portion of Meridian’s coverage area to form ITV Thames Valley, so that the area covered now extends all the way down to the South of England, including Southampton and the Isle of Wight, extending into Eastern Dorset.

The proposed changes would mean this region merging again with the rest of the Meridian area, which covers south and south-east England. This merger already occurs within ITV’s morning news bulletins within GMTV and the daytime schedule. I swear, on occasion I’ve seen news items on events in both Dorset and Essex in the same bulletin, and nothing nearer to my home town.

ITV made a big song and dance not so long ago about their ITV Local online service, which was intended to make regional news more localised, not less. I can’t say it’s been a particular success: for me, searching by county produced no news at all from Buckinghamshire. Now, I know it’s not the most sparkling of places, but saying that nothing at all is going on is a bit harsh. And the whole ethos doesn’t seem to aim very high — viewers are encouraged to email in details of events, such as fetes, in their area, or even to “pick up a camera yourself”. It’s a perfunctory nod to user-generated content that feels more akin to print newspapers’ village correspondents (such as the Hotten Courier’s Amos Brearly in Emmerdale Farm).

If this move by ITV goes ahead (and it looks like it’s going to be strenuously opposed by Bectu, let alone any viewers’ groups) then ITV is going to have to work hard to make news reporting in the new enlarged regions still feels relevant to viewers from their home area. They could do worse than be much more active on the user-generated side, and here they could take a leaf out of Five News’ book. Their “Your News” feature, which invites members of the public the opportunity to contribute stories relevant to them, works really well in making their whole bulletin seem accessible and relevant.

If Five can make a national broadcast feel local, then maybe — just maybe — the same could work for ITV local news…

What a joyous day to return to my desk and find that the fight over spending cuts in the news department at the Beeb has taken a new turn. Not so long back I entered into a bit of finger pointing at John Humphrys for his childish foot-stamping over potential cuts to the budget of Today.

Humphrys took up the call not long after another BBC institution, Jeremy Paxman, presented a scathing MacTaggart Lecture aimed mostly at the deficiencies of his employer.

But now these broadcasting giants have turned their super powers on each other through the pages of the BBC’s internal newspaper, Ariel, with much slinging off mud happening around the news crèche.

“[Today] might even - God forbid! - be more important than television programmes such as Newsnight or even late-night chat shows aimed at the yoof audience.”

Humphrys launched the first salvo in last week’s edition of Ariel.

“In my experience, and I’ve worked in both, there’s a lot more fat in television - if fat is the right word - than there is in radio.”

Oooh, saucer of milk for table nine, methinks! It’s to be hoped there’s not too much fat on Today as they’d never fit into that tiny studio. But then Paxo deftly returns the volley from the radio upstart with this little nugget in the pages of this week’s edition of the internal paper:

“Well, hold the front page! John Humphrys thinks his programme shouldn’t have its budget cut. That’s not even up there with Dog Bites Man.”

Where I come from, that’s fighting talk. I love how these usually serious men who routinely topple MPs and world figures with their barbed journalistic super powers are now turning on themselves – it’s like when Batman and Superman decide to open a can of whupp ass on each other. Or more like a couple of five year olds in the school playground fighting over a toy. At least Paxo does talk a smidgen of sense in his letter, questioning the wisdom of in-fighting (“like rats in a sack”) wondering if might be better…:

“that senior management make some strategic judgments about what we’re for?”

Steady on Jeremy, I think I preferred it when you were knocking lumps out of each other, not being sensible and considered. Where’s Michael Howard when you need him?

It was little over a month ago that Mark first reported on the first sightings of Emu in the wild, after viewing a short promotional reel heralding the bird’s new sitcom for CITV. His initial reactions were postitive, saying that “it doesn’t look half bad… Trepidation, be gone!.

This morning, it was my turn to sample the new programme at the press launch. As well as the promo Mark saw, I’ve now seen two of the 26 episodes in the series, and it really is rather good quality stuff.

Set in a modern-day apartment block, the stories are rather more tightly constructed than in Emu’s last foray into ITV-land, with its pink windmills and Grotbags. The wonderful Carole Lee Scott is absent from this series, with our feathered friend facing not one, but two enemies: the vain and self-serving next-door-neighbour, Sophie (Phillipa Peak), and the rule-obsessed security man, Ken Cole (James Puddephatt). In a block where no pets are allowed, Emu’s owner Toby has to keep the bird’s presence a secret. Children Charlie (Myles Thompson) and Dani (Naomi Fearon) are on hand to help.

That’s pretty much as simple a setup as you need for any sitcom, and it does the job well. Noticeably, in the full press pack all the supporting characters are given backstories that delve a little more deeply. For example:

Charlie and Dani are not siblings but have been chucked together for their parents’ convenience since toddlerhood. Dani goes round to Charlie’s flat every night after school as her mum works. There’s a closeness bred of familiarity but they would both say they wouldn’t choose to spend so much time together if they didn’t have to.

I have to think that if this wasn’t a bright, sunny, primary colour-tinged sitcom, the setups for these characters could actually veer off into drama rather than comedy quite easily. A lot of the material in the above quote, and in the back stories attached to each regular character, doesn’t explicitly come through on screen, but it’s clear that the writers (for the episodes I’ve seen, Jo Clegg and Adam Bostock-Smith) are using this material in doing their best to flesh out what could so easily be one-dimensional characters.

The biggest shock, at least for those of us who remember Emu when he was curated by Toby’s father Rod Hull, is the bird himself. A new, younger puppet (made by Neil Sterenberg) works for the most part separately from Toby. Controlled by puppeteer Simon Buckley, Emu is full of character - likeable and mischievous. Unfortunately, there are occasions where Toby carries the bard (complete with requisite fake arm), and indulges in the usual Emu-attacks-his-owner slapstick routine. He isn’t able to carry it off nearly as well as his father did, and for a show that’s determined to reinvent Emu for a new generation, it seems more like a burst of nostalgia that feels curiously out of place.

Thankfully, though, those occasions are rare, and Buckley is control — and it’s nice to see that he is credited as “Emu” in the show’s closing credits.

One thing, though — with such a nice, new version of Emu roaming the studio, it’s a shame that they use a poorly-realised animated version for the show’s opening titles, and a third version, this time in CGI, for transitions between scenes.

Emu premieres on the CITV Channel on Monday, October 8, and will be shown on ITV1 on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

As Scott informed you all yesterday, I was indisposed due to a nasty run-in with an oyster on Saturday evening, that still sees me bedridden as of today. Thank the Lord for laptops and wireless technology. Granted, that’s not of much interest to any of our loyal readers, aside from the fact I am currently in the process of pitching When Molluscs Go Bad to ITV4. I confidently expect the green light any day.

In between my fevered ramblings and dreams of being attacked by a giant bowl of shallots and wine vinegar, I’ve been lucid enough to pay attention to some recent DVD purchases, including Battlestar Galactica Season Three. More of that later this week, but I now firmly believe this show has become the most important drama series currently being broadcast anywhere in the world. Until Rough Diamond season two, perhaps.

My other route to blocking out the woes of daytime TV (since when did Countdown last for 45 minutes?!) has been the essential Ace of Wands DVD boxset. If ever there was a contender for a truly lost gem of 70s children’s TV, this is it. Fully two series out of the three that were made no longer exist in any form, but this box set is lovely, featuring all the surviving episodes and a fairly comprehensive documentary.

I’ll no doubt share some more detailed thoughts on the series as I proceed, but for now I can barely get past the opening titles. I have to keep rewinding and listening to the theme tune over and over because it is quite simply the best theme tune ever to grace a TV show. It even pips The Tomorrow People for my money, and I never thought I’d hear myself say that.

It’s so 70s it’s wearing flares and has sideburns the size of a football pitch, but it’s so engrossingly perfect for the show it accompanies (which really is something else). Who could resist lyrics like:

‘Iron roads, asphalt sky, windows of made from water’

So here begins the campaign for not only Ace of Wands as a series to be recognised as a lost classic, but for its beautiful, trippy hippy theme tune to be rediscovered for a new generation.

For the full lyrics to Tarot, written by series creator Trevor Preston and performed by Andy Bown, now with Status Quo, try this fantastically comprehensive website devoted to the series, and if you want to hear the track in all its glory, then head over to Youtube where you will no doubt find a clip of the theme look no further:

And for the full song (with subtitles):

One of the reasons I started up TV Today was jealousy. I was jealous that American television had TV Squad, Television Without Pity, and more, and yet British television didn’t enjoy the same level of enthusiastic analysis.

And one of the major reasons behind my love of TV Squad was Adam Finley, who sadly passed away last week after being involved in a road traffic accident. He was 30.

Over the last 24 hours, TV Squad has reprinted some of the finest work Adam did for the blog. Sometimes crazy, often hilarious, it’s always guaranteed to make you appreciate how much he loved television, and how much he must be missed by those who knew him.

• Adam Finley: Extra Hollywood Access: The E! News Weekend edition
• Adam Finley: Press Kits Unwrapped: The Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, and The War at Home
• Adam Finley: The Five: Forgotten on Sesame Street
• Adam Finley: Edward Gorey does Star Trek
• Adam Finley: The Five: You can’t see me
• Adam Finley: Learn about cans for some reason
• Adam Finley: Ryan Seacrest to host Emmys
• Adam Finley: Count your remotes
• Adam Finley: Adam’s kooky lyric game
• Adam Finley: The desperation of Stephen King
• Adam Finley: Ever wish you were animated?
• Adam Finley: Fast Food Nation “steals” line from The Simpsons
• Adam Finley: Confab with Satan
• Adam Finley: Medium Rare: How the other side lives
• Adam Finley: Good TV makes you fat
• Adam Finley: Wash your car, make love, it’s all the same
• Adam Finley: Farewell to the only ESPN show I ever watched
• Adam Finley: Press Kits Unwrapped: The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror XVII
• Adam Finley: Reality check on Craigslist
• Adam Finley: The Five: The other Muppets
• Adam Finley: The 14 most touching Simpsons episodes

There’s more about Adam’s life, and links to his other writings, in TV Squad’s main post, Adam Finley: 1976-20007.

After the fuss over some early script discussions about the nature of an explosion, Casualty burst on to BBC1’s screens again this weekend with two episodes that overlapped to show events from the perspective of new junior doctor Toby De Silva (Matthew Needham) and old hand Charlie Fairhead (Derek Thompson).

After the opening titles, which saw the theme reworked slightly to reintroduce some of the more traditional electronic instruments after last year’s more orchestral version, it was clearly apparent that the style of shooting had changed — although, for someone who’s been watching the show since it started over two decades ago, the change between the last series and this one is not as great as some quarters would have you believe. The handheld style has gradually been creeping in over the last year or so, but this now appears to be the norm rather than used for one-offs. To aid with this, every scene seems to be illuminated using found light, relying on light sources built in to the set (either as lamps or through windows).

Combined with the new dark green set, which seems to have been not only repainted but remodelled with remarkable speed (whatever happened to the back wall of reception, and when did the staff room get two doors?), this makes the interior shots look considerably darker than they have in the past — but that’s no bad thing, as the one thing that makes a studio set look most set-like and least like a genuine workplace is overlighting.

Sadly, Mark’s indisposed today, thanks to an unfortunate encounter with an oyster at the weekend (the mollusc won). So, it’s up to me to find you some televisual treats for the next few days…

Comics Britannia BBC4, Monday 9pm
American children may have had Superman, Batman and legions of other superheroes to worship in print form; we had the Beano, the Dandy, Whizzer and Chips… This documentary (the first of three) charts the rise of British comics from the earliest days, all presented in what comics expert Graham Kibble-White describes as “an ace ‘moving comic-strip’ style”.

Johnny Vegas’s Guide to… Evangelical Christianity Channel 4, Tuesday 11.05pm
Channel 4 may have developed an obsession with throwing inappropriate celebrities at religions to see what sticks, with Peaches Geldof’s cringingly awful attempt at understanding Islam a particular nadir. Other attempts by the broadcaster (Hardeep Singh Kohli examining Scientology, and Dermot O’Leary exploring Catholicism) worked much better, and it’s to be hoped that this programme will fit the latter category. After all, there is at least some reason behind the casting here. Before he found fame as Johnny Vegas, Michael Pennington came from a strict Roman Catholic family, joining a seminary until deciding that life as a priest did not suit him. So there may well be an added dimension to this examination of faith.

Brothers & Sisters Channel 4, Wednesday 10pm
Usually when Channel 4 switch an hour-long show to run as a double bill each week, it’s because the programme is underperforming and they want to get it out of the way as quickly as possible. I hope that’s not the case here, because for all its over-sentimentalised histrionics, Brothers & Sisters is a compelling family drama. Its biggest fault at the moment is that, with the addition of Rob Lowe as a high-flying politician, both he and Calista Flockhart seem to be in a separate show to the others, so we end up bouncing between thirtysomething and a sub-Sorkin West Wing. Which isn’t a bad heritage for a bastard child, you have to admit. Speaking of which, the much talked-about Rebecca finally shows up this week, in the shape of Everwood’s Emily Van Camp…

Who Do You Think You Are?, BBC1, Thursday 9pm
After last week’s episode with the frustrating Natasha Kiplinsky (I’m sure I wasn’t the only one shouting at the screen, “Why did you have to go to South Africa to find out what your father did? Why didn’t you just ASK HIM WHILE YOU WERE IN THE UK?!”), tonight’s journey with John Hurt promises to be far more involving. Central to Hurt’s exploration of his family tree is the investigation of an old family legend about the true parentage of his great-grandmother.

Ghosts Channel 4, Thursday 10pm
Documentary maker Nick Broomfield’s acclaimed foray into fiction, already broadcast on More4, makes its terrestrial debut. Set amongst the events in 2004 that led to the deaths of 23 Chinese cockle pickers in Morecambe Bay, Bloomfield’s drama makes use of amateur actors and his trademark camerawork style to produce a story that’s involving as it is harrowing. Next time anybody dares complain about the National Lottery funding British film (a particular, long-standing bugbear of mine), just point them here and tell them to shut the hell up.

And just for fun:

Kinky Boots Sky Movies Comedy, Wednesday 8pm
What Not To Wear BBC1, Thursday 8pm
Neither recommended on quality — although Kinky Boots, despite its formulaic structure, isn’t a bad British film at all; if anything, it suffered from being marketed as an Ealing-style comedy when really it’s more of a Boulting Brothers-style political satire. No, watch the two of these and blow me down, if Chiwetel Eijofor’s drag queen Lola isn’t the spitting image of Mica Paris…

Bleak House (Friday 7.30pm, BBC4)

A very welcome repeat run for the critically acclaimed Dickens adaptation. Great cast, great production.

After You’ve Gone (Friday 8.30pm, BBC1)

The BBC appears to have developed a good track record in developing sitcoms that, while not being hugely successful, manage to build a respectable audience. After You’ve Gone is one such entry into the pantheon. It’s not wildly good, but Nicholas Lyndhurst as divorcee Jimmy and Celia Imrie as his former mother-in-law Diana have an unerring ability to turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse. If you’re not doing anything else, it’ll pass the time.

A Bucket o’ French and Saunders (Friday 9pm, BBC1)

Woe betide they might actually sit down and write a brand new sketch series, Jennifer and Dawn give their back catalogue a dusting down for this compilation show, while providing a smidge of new material. There are some odd choices among the old sketches, but worth it for the nostalgia value alone.

Not Going Out (Friday 9.30pm, BBC1)

The deceptively good Lee Mack comedy, co-written with Andrew Collins, returns for a second series. Mack is a master of the telegraphed one-liner, and I like that this show wears its heart on its sleeve. The downside is that there’s no return for the delightful Megan Dodds as Kate, but there’s enough to like to make this a Friday night staple.

Big Brother: What the Housemates Did Next (Friday 9pm, C4)

Just give it up, okay?

The X Factor (Saturday 7.25pm, ITV1)

It’s here for the next 50 billion weeks. What more is there to say?

Casualty (Saturday 8.25pm, BBC1)

Oooh, look, Casualty has gone all edgy and dark, just like the far superior Holby. There’s some new cast members, including Corrie’s ex-Battersby sister Georgia Taylor as a new face on the ward, but best of all, we get the fabulous Amanda Mealing stalking A&E as the divine Connie Beauchamp. A quick flick to Tuesday’s cast list for Holby City finds her absent, so I hope this change in personnel isn’t going to be permanent.

Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway (Saturday 8.25pm, ITV1)

The best light entertainment show of the decade returns to give the still popular Geordie duo free rein for more fun and laughter on a Saturday night. Rumour is, this could be the last series, so let’s hope they go out in style.

Carry on Camping (Saturday 10.45pm, BBC2)

Oh go on, you know it makes sense.

Coronation Street (Sunday 7.30pm, ITV1)

Oh Ashley, you have been a silly boy, haven’t you? Will Claire ever forgive you for destroying your family by having an affair with a badly acted bunny boiler? Don’t count on it, mate.

The Dinner Party (Sunday 9pm, BBC1)

A top-flight cast makes this quite bitter-sweet drama more watchable than it probably has a right to be. Rupert Graves is Roger, filthy rich and thoroughly unlikeable, who decides to celebrate his birthday with an ill-advised dinner party. Cue an evening of mis-matched guests and social disaster. The stellar cast includes Alun Armstrong, Alison Steadman and Jessie Wallace.

Via T&SW comes news that TIME magazine has published its choice of the Top 100 TV shows of all time.

British programmes get a fair look-in, with seven UK-produced shows in the list:

• Brideshead Revisited
• I, Claudius
• Monty Python’s Flying Circus
• The Office [British]
• Prime Suspect
• The Prisoner
• The Singing Detective

In addition, UK talent is represented in one shape or form with Survivor (a UK format which never really took off here), Sanford and Son (a US remake of Steptoe), All in the Family (ditto with Till Death Us Do Part) and American Idol (another UK format export).

So that’s 11 out of 100 shows that are British in origin. Not a bad hit rate, really.

The best thing about the list, though, is that TIME has video clips from nearly all of their chosen 100 shows.

If you ever needed an excuse to while away a Friday afternoon pottering on the internet, this is it…

• The full list of 100 shows

As reported over in the news section, former Emmerdale actor Ronald Magill has sadly passed away at the age of 87. Of course, many of you will know him better as memorable landlord of The Woolpack, the singular and popular Amos Brearly.

I’m greatly saddened by this. As a larger than life character who was a mainstay of Emmerdale from pretty much the beginning in 1972, to 1991, Amos quickly found affection with the audience of the fledgling drama to earn his place as a soap original.

I have very fond memories of Emmerdale, back when it was Emmerdale Farm and the concept of 6 episodes a week would have given the cast nightmares, let alone the notion of year-round production. I always remember the long summer holidays spent at my grandma’s when ITV would show re-edited compilations of the show at lunchtime, with extra narration dubbed over by Frazer Hines or Sheila Mercier.

To a six year old, though, the best bits of Emmerdale were to be had in The Woolpack, run in those days by Amos Brearly and Henry Wilks (who also owned the freehold to Emmerdale Farm itself). Kids love comedy double-acts, and these chaps were one of the best. With a bark of “Amos!” from Wilks, and the famous retort of “Nay, Mr Wilks!” from the mutton-chopped Brearly, there was always fun to be had.

But the trick with Amos was that he was much more subtle than just a one-note comedy character. There was a real sadness to him – I remember an episode where he is invited on a golf outing by some Woolpack customers. Later, in the club toilets, he overhears two of the party complaining what a boring old duffer Amos was. Magill played the hurt to perfection, belying the otherwise caricature nature of his role.

And of course, there was a happy departure for Amos. After his proposal was turned down by Annie Sugden in 1972, she eventually said yes in the early 90s and the pair married in 1995.

After departing the regular cast in 1991, Magill would return to the series for brief appearances in 1994 and 1995.

TV Today salutes Amos Brearly, and his much-missed creator, Ronald Magill. Soap legends forever.

This week’s print edition of The Stage, which hits the shops today, has a centre spread (as seen above) devoted to the Disney Channel smash hit High School Musical. I interviewed Lucas Grabeel at last week’s press launch of High School Musical 2 at London’s Cafe Royal. In it, he talks about how he decided he wanted to be an actor, the circumstances in which he met his manager, and some of his plans for the future.

Also, managing director of Disney Channel UK Rob Gilby looks at how the TV film franchise has taken off in Britain. While Gilby looks at things from a business perspective, he has a reputation in the industry as being passionate about children’s television as a whole, and that really came across when I was talking to him.

What’s in the paper is just a small part of the coverage we’ve got lined up for you leading up to the UK broadcast premiere on 21 September. Between now and then, TV Today has some great High School Musical stuff lined up:

• An interview with Olesya Rulin, who plays composer and musician Kelsi Nielsen in the films

• An interview with Gary Marsh, president, entertainment, Disney Channel Worldwide.

• A review of High School Musical 2

• Some hints from the producers about what they have in store for High School Musical 3

Everything HSM-related will be linked from the blog’s High School Musical page as and when it goes online. You can either bookmark that page and keep checking it, or add The TV Today RSS feed to your feed reader, and get instant notifications of every blog entry.

The Stage is available from most high street branches of WH Smiths and other newsagents, priced £1.30.

In all the hoo-ha over Doctor Who yesterday, I completely missed the opportunity to call foul on John Humphrys’ calls for BBC3 and BBC4 to be axed in favour of further cuts to the budget of what he has called “core programming”. In other words, the veteran broadcaster is having a big old hissy fit because somebody is threatening to take away Today’s pocket money.

I just wanted to highlight this story from Media Guardian in which BBC Vision executives have rattled the sabre in response to comments by Humphrys and, amongst others, Jeremy Paxman.

“We would prefer to keep our dirty linen within the BBC and keep it as an internal debate, but some journalists are using their positions to create their own arguments”

a senior executive within BBC Vision, the body responsible for all BBC TV’s in-house production, has allegedly said. And I have to applaud the sentiment. Paxman, admittedly, talked some sense in his MacTaggart Lecture, but Humphrys is sounding ever-more like a spoiled child.

Let’s make no bones about this, the likes of Humphrys and Paxman have both had highly privileged careers within the BBC that have allowed them a certain amount of latitude in their professional activities within the Corporation. To suddenly start biting the hand that feeds I find bizarre in the extreme – I don’t pay my licence fee to hear JH bang on about how hard done by he is. If you don’t like it, find a new job.

Further to that, I wish I didn’t have to pay my licence fee to hear Mr Humphrys carry out overly antagonistic interviews on a Radio 4 institution that is largely considered past its best. Will he be being so brazen about what he thinks of his employers when the next lot of Rajars are announced and we find that Today has leached another stack of listeners, creeping ever closer to an all-time low? Perhaps not.

To say that BBC4 is watched by “six men and a dog” is way off the mark. To suggest it needs to be axed to protect funding for core programming such as Today is selfish and unrealistic. I’d trade a month’s worth of Today if it gave me something of the quality of Fantabulosa or Gavin and Stacey.

Here’s a newsflash: the BBC is about more than news. It’s important, yes, but isn’t the be all and end all of Auntie’s output. And, more often than not in recent years, it’s the News division that brings the most embarrassment down on the Beeb’s shoulders. Everybody at Broadcasting House is in the same boat – time for belt tightening all round, so get used to it.

Or we could just cancel Mastermind – it’s hardly core programming, is it, and I’m not even sure if the dog can be bothered watching.

Remember Seamus? Well, it seems that, after his embarrassingly reworded version of Close Every Door, he has finally been promised a show of his own: a Michael Jackson tribute show.

Thriller Live, which toured in the spring, goes back on the road this autumn with an updated cast including not only Seamus, but Zoe Birkett, the highest-placed girl in the original series of Pop Idol (she came fourth behind Darius Danesh, Gareth Gates and Will Young).

Our what’s on section will have more details anon.

Meanwhile, Loppies: feel free to use this post…

Well it is if you listen to the press and the sky falling in reaction from Doctor Who fandom to the announcement yesterday on the future of the highly successful BBC drama.

I’m at a loss as to how any negative spin can be placed on the announcement that Doctor Who as a series has a commitment from Auntie until 2010. With this year’s Christmas special, 13 new episodes in 2008, three specials in 2009 and, we assume 13 episodes in 2010, that makes around 31 episodes of new Who between now and the end of the decade. That, I am reliably informed by somebody who deals in numbers, makes on average a brand new episode every 33 days or so (please don’t check my workings, they’re probably wrong).

But here we are with headlines along the lines of ‘Dr Who on hold’, ‘Dr Who fans face two-year time warp’, ‘Fifth Dr Who postponed’, and my personal favourite from the rather entertaining Hecklerspray, ‘No more Doctor Who for ages’.

And that’s nothing compared to the reaction on the various Whovian messaqe boards, with screams that it’s like the 1985 “hiatus” all over again, demanding the BBC gives complete transparency on the reasons why and some rather unpleasant demands for the heads of Russell T Davies and David Tennant for daring to hold the BBC to ransom. They fear the fickle audience will forget the top-rated, multi-award winning, critically acclaimed family drama with only three measly special episodes in 2009 to remind them it’s still there.

There’s the suggestion that this situation has been brought about because David Tennant is keen to pursue other projects. Yes, and? Why is that such a problem? After four years (as of Summer 2008), we will have had four 13-episode series. Let your star and production team take their foot off the gas for a bit, step back, and recharge the creative batteries. If I have a steak every night for two weeks, I’m going to get mighty sick of steak. Similarly, you could run out 13 episodes of Doctor Who on a production line every year, and the chances are, your audience will eventually get sick of it.

There’s a notion that if RTD and DT think believe they are bigger than the show then they should be replaced with a new star and show runner. If only it were that simple. A production like Doctor Who is a year-round entity these days, and you can’t just swap your top-tier production staff like swapping over a USB stick. It’s like a steam liner, course changes need to be gradual and planned so as not to capsize your entire craft.

My belief is that the production of the three specials is a way of pulling back on the production schedule. This would allow a new executive producer/show runner to be brought in, and ensure a smooth transition process before the series embarks on a new direction in 2010.

Whether we will have a new star or not, who knows? If David Tennant is being a clever bunny, then I’m sure he’s probably keeping his options open. I know I would.

The bottom line is that the plan outlined in Monday’s press release is a Good Thing and I’m still shaking my head in wonder at anybody who can suggest otherwise. It ensures that Doctor Who will be around as a high profile, hugely important show for the next few years, hopefully with a future beyond 2010.

• Anthony Head says that Buffy spinoff Ripper is a step closer to being commissioned. (via The Guardian)

• US cable channel HBO buys a ‘machinima’ animated film created completely with the Second Life virtual environment. The first part of the film is currently available on YouTube. (via Boing Boing)

• Other blogs cotton on to Cape Wrath not being recommissioned. Don’t forget who told you that first, a week ago!

• The stars of CBeebies show Big Cook, Little Cook are to present the not-at-all-for-children Nuts TV (via Chortle)

• The US version of DanceX will be called Dance Wars: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann. Taking Arlene Phillips’ role is Carrie Ann Inaba, a judge on Dancing With The Stars, America’s version of Strictly Come Dancing. (via Broadcast (subscription only))

• Lots of spoilers for Ugly Betty Season 2, including news of Six Feet Under’s Freddy Rodriguez as a love interest for Betty. (via TV & Satellite Week)

• Finally, and also via T&SW, Scaryduck’s potted version of 22 years of EastEnders. Brilliant.

MediaGuardian on tomorrow’s Apple launch, which is to be held at BBC Television Centre:

The choice of venue for tomorrow’s launch - BBC Television Centre - is being seen as an indication that the new iPod could be announced alongside new downloadable BBC content and the built-in radio.

Now, coming as it does from the usually reliable Jemima Kiss, I’m inclined to believe this rumour more than most.

However, it’s not the first time Apple has hosted a launch at TV Centre. That didn’t have anything to do with any BBC tie-ins, instead being ‘just’ the launch of the video iPod. So I’m currently of a mind to think that we should prepare for ‘just’ a new iPod. One with a touch sensitive widescreen and CoverFlow, like the iPhone, perhaps.

Mind you, publicly announcing new video content for the iTunes Store from the BBC would be a benefit to Apple, in that it may offset some of the stories about NBC Universal’s decision not to renew its contract. While the commentary relating to the Apple/NBCU fallout is falling heavily in Apple’s favour, it has overshadowed the launch of TV shows on iTunes UK.

If there is to be new video content available from the BBC, most likely it would come via the corporation’s commercial arm, BBC Worldwide — which would mean that we’d only see content roughly at the same time as it becomes available on DVD. And given the high price of iTunes video downloads at the moment, that’s still not greatly appealing.

You know, ever since some time last week, there’s been a very odd smell emanating from the TV Today basement. I’m not quite sure what it is, but it’s certainly gross enough to not make me particularly want to investigate further. But after a week or so of watching review copies of Waking The Dead: Series 5, I was half expecting the Cold Case Unit to come bounding out of there, with Boyd shouting relentlessly at his more-than-capable team after having uncovered some emaciated remains…

The fifth season of the BBC’s best police procedural series is an odd beast. Still suffering from the death of Claire Goose’s Mel Silver at the end of series 4, the first story (of six) sees Boyd re-opening one of his old cases. Which involves more shouting, a drug-induced hit and run, Boyd suspended from duty (which somehow seems to have no real impact on the team, other than for there to be EVEN MORE SHOUTING) and an encounter with a Customs and Excise official who seems to be Heathrow’s answer to Boyd himself. For one episode only, Mel’s role is filled by Georgia McKenzie as the instantly forgettable Det. Sgt. Andrea Stephenson.

The pattern of looking at old cases related to members of the team rears its head again not once, but twice, with ghosts from both Grace Foley and Spencer Jordan’s past cropping up. They’re all cracking stories, but you have to wonder what the production team were thinking having three such tales in a single six-episode run.

And this series we also encounter two new regular members of the CCU team. From episode 2, Stella Goodman (Felicite du Jeu) is thrown in at the deep end, competently getting on with things while Boyd stomps about (at least, until a complete character change in the sixth and final story of the season), while Holly Aird’s Frankie is replaced in the pathology lab with Esther Hall as Felix, a switch that seems almost to have been done at the last minute, as there’s not much difference in characterisation. Little wonder that she didn’t stay around until series six, perhaps?

The pathologist’s role is mostly expositional, though, and it’s in the infodumps that Waking the Dead either excels or falls flat on its face. Some of my favourite scenes with the CCU team consist of someone spouting lots of background information, but as with all such programmes, this often consists of character A telling character B something that B already knows. Here, the team often get round that by overlapping the dialogue with other, inconsequential matters, often in what seems a semi-improvised form. It results in a naturalistic form discussion which counteracts the forced nature of what’s being exposited. The only problem is that these scenes do tend to stick out a bit from the rest of each episode, which have a much more usual style.

Still, despite all the flaws on show in this box set, Boyd and his team remain one of the most captivating police units to watch on television. Now, if only I can call them in to investigate the source of that smell…

• Waking The Dead - Series 5 is released on 10 September, RRP £34.99.
• Preorder from Amazon.co.uk for £26.24

Nigella Express (Monday 8.30pm, BBC2)

A classy, slick return for Nigella in a cookery show that attempts to solve the issue of rustling up tasty meals in less time than it takes to grab a pizza menu. It’s heavy on the eye candy (just look at last week’s Radio Times cover), but at the heart of Nigella’s colourful cookery is some sound advice.

Hell’s Kitchen (Monday 9pm, ITV1)

Angus Deayton is back on host duties, but there’s yet another change of staff amongst the kitchen personnel as Marco Pierre White put his apron on to strike terror into the heart of the chefs. And as with the first series of Hell’s Kitchen, we’re back to celebrities this time, which should bring the fun factor back. As reality TV goes, this is about as fun as it can get.

Fantabulosa (Monday 9.20pm, BBC4)

A welcome repeat showing for this fantastic dramatisation of Kenneth Williams’s famous diaries. Michael Sheen is magnificent as the comedy star.

Kath and Kim (Monday 10pm, BBC2)

The cult (and utterly fabulous) Aussie sitcom is back for a third series, and suddenly Monday nights are worth staying in for again. Kath and Kel seek some marriage-guidance, which is a bit problematic seeing as Kath’s ex-husband is suddenly back on the scene.

Gavin and Stacey (Tuesday 10pm, BBC2)

The riotous joy of the year’s best comedy comes to the fore in this third episode as Gavin and Stacey’s respective clans come together for the engagement party. You may have noticed that we can’t praise this show enough, but when writing and acting this good comes along, you just have to shout about it.

Skins (Tuesday 10pm, C4)

After Nicholas Hoult’s rather stunning turn in Sunday’s Coming Down the Mountain, it’s worth tuning into this terrestrial showing of Skins to see just why this young actor is a future star in the making. The series itself isn’t that bad either.

Consenting Adults (Wednesday 9pm, BBC4)

BBC 4’s week-long gay season continues with this dramatisation of Sir John Wolfenden’s convening of a committee in the late 1950s to examine the state of laws governing homosexuality. Charles Dance is excellent as Wolfenden, whose committee felt there should be a change in the law from its harshness of the time. Watch out for a cracking little cameo from Mark Gatiss, currently playing at The Old Vic in All About My Mother.

Tittybanbang: the Best Bits (Wednesday 10pm, BBC2)

Eh? Surely a contradiction in terms? And how on earth do they get 30 minutes of such a concept?

Brothers and Sisters (Wednesday 10pm, C4)

A double bill of a favourite guilty pleasure sees Marion Ross (Mrs Cunningham in Happy Days) turn up as Nora’s mother in a highly unwelcome visit. Elsewhere, Kitty seems to be falling for Senator McCallister’s charms (well, he is Rob Lowe…)

Who Do You Think You Are? (Thursday 9pm, BBC1)

Natasha Kaplinsky is the subject of this first in a new series of a now-perennial BBC brand. She’s a difficult lady to read is our Natasha, but if you can get past the seemingly fake exterior, there’s some genuinely sad revelations unearthed here.

The Hotel Inspector (Thursday 9pm, Five)

Forget Gordon Ramsay and Sarah Beeny, Ruth Watson is the scariest thing that’s ever going to walk your door to give business advice. She’s like Mary Poppins with f-words.

Suburban Shootout (Thursday 10pm, Five)

Since when did Five become worth sticking with for a whole two hours? But with The Hotel Inspector at 9, and Suburban Shootout at 10, this is cracking scheduling. Suburban Shootout can be a bit hit and miss, but this comedy about suburban housewives with lots and lots of guns is better than a lot of modern comedy, and for Five, it’s pure gold. Worth a look!