She may have been tasked with a dubiously impossible mission - to have ITV Productions supplying 75% of programming for ITV1 - but the loss of Dawn Airey as director of global content after a scant eight months heralds yet another worrying thump of a nail into the ITV coffin. Even odder is that Airey’s new job will be taking her back to Five, a company she quit five years ago for pastures new, pastures which clearly have not been all that lush.
The real question on my mind is: just what happened in the eight months that Airey served for ITV and Michael Grade? She was clearly perceived as something of a big name signing and key to Grade’s vision of ITV’s glorious future in the independent sector. But in this case, was Airey not up to scratch in her role, or was it ITV that didn’t perform to her expectations? But coming after an abortive tenure at defunct start-up Iostar, has Airey’s reputation as a reasonable channel boss lost its shine, and how will she cope back at Five?
The BBC’s new media team has just released their latest toy: the Doctor Who trailer maker. Using a variety of video and audio clips from the series, you can now put together your own 30-second trailer using a web-based video editing interface.
The style of the interface should be familiar to anyone who’s worked with programs like Windows Movie Maker or Apple’s iMovie before. While everything’s been simplified to make it as easy to use as possible — options to trim clips and sett audio levels, for example, aren’t as precise as you’ll get in a desktop application — it’s still easy to grasp the concept quite quickly.
To get an overview of what the tool is capable of, here are a few examples that TV Today has knocked up:
The veteran broadcaster it seems has been recording a trial of a new general knowledge game show that could be a contender to occupy the 5pm Monday to Friday slot on C4 once Mr and Mrs Finnegan-Madely get the removal men in. There’s also the notion that a format could be found for ever popular Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond to pilot in the same slot.
But, but, but… My bottom lip is wobbling alarmingly at the notion of Sir Terry popping up on the airwaves of a channel that isn’t the BBC. It just isn’t right, I tell you. Wogan is as much a part of the fabric of the BBC as the ravens are at the Tower of London. I have horrible visions of Television Centre crumbling to the ground as soon as he steps out of the building and jumps into a cab over to Channel 4.
Good news for fans of quality drama. ITV1 has confirmed that a one-off film sequel to The Naked Civil Servant is to go ahead, with John Hurt reprising his Bafta-winning turn as gay writer Quentin Crisp.
The original film, produced by the late Verity Lambert and recently shown on BBC4 as part of a tribute night to her, followed Crisp’s life up until he departed the UK for a new life in New York — where he revelled in being known as one of the ‘stately homos of England’.
The new film, An Englishman in New York, takes up where the previous film left off, with Crisp part of the New York scene. From the press release:
New Yorkers immediately embrace Quentin and his witty waspish ways, and before long he is being wined and dined by celebrities in every corner of Manhattan.
A shining light of the chattering classes, Quentin befriends Patrick, a young artist who opens his eyes to the possibility that intimate human relationships - something Quentin has spent his life running away from - can work. But, as is so often the case with the maverick gay writer, Quentin cannot help but shock and, at a public event, he quips that the burgeoning AIDS crisis is “a fad”. Quentin is suddenly dropped from high society.
Then, out of the blue, he is re-discovered by English pop star Sting and immortalised in Sting’s famous song “An Englishman in New York”. Could this be the start of Quentin’s revival?
The new film is written by Brian Fillis (who wrote BBC4 biogs Fear of Fanny and Curse of Steptoe) and will be directed by Richard Laxton (Hancock and Joan). It is being produced by Amanda Jenks at Leopardrama for ITV1.
Filming starts in August in London and New York, so it won’t be on screens until Autumn 2008 at the very earliest.
Writers Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong and actors David Mitchell and Robert Webb are on stage at Bafta, two nights after Peep Show won the Bafta Award for Best Sitcom. Together, the four are a well-oiled machine, easily answering questions from a largely fan-based audience and laughing at each other’s jokes. But, there does seem to be some confusion. For the second time David and Robert have been compared to their characters and both are at pains to point out that while they look and sound like Mark and Jeremy, they are in fact not them.
‘I hope I’m not quite as stupid, dishonourable, deluded, selfish, feckless and thick as Jeremy,’ protests Robert.
‘You’ve got to love your characters, haven’t you?’ grins David.
Oooh, this is something new. An afternoon soap to fill the Neighbours gap that might just have a bit more substance about it. It’s still Aussie in setting, but is an original BBC commission, focusing on a group of friends who return to the beach resort of Manly to attend a high school reunion nearly a decade after they left. Before the night is out, one of them will be dead and the group pulled into a twisty-turny murder investigation as the series unfolds. There’s a dark heart at the centre of this otherwise sunny soap of beautiful people, raising it above the level of just another Neighbours replacement.
Waking the Dead (Monday 9pm, BBC1)
When a corpse is uncovered in the woods (oh God, not another one?!), Boyd and the team are drawn into a military conspiracy that links the body to another murder. Sounds like just another Waking the Dead story, but going up against the military, will Boyd find his match in somebody equally shouty? One can hope.
Ideal (Monday 10.30pm, BBC3)
Has this really been running for four series? You’re kidding! That’s at least three too many, and I may have under counted. It might be my aversion to most things Johnny Vegas, but I have never found anything remotely funny in his turn as the allegedly lovable dope dealer Moz. Laugh? I’d rather watch Teenage Kicks. Actually, I can’t back that last statement up…
Holby City (Tuesday 8pm, BBC1)
Adrian Edmonson returns to Holby tonight as disgraced surgeon Abra Durant, somewhat battered and bloody. Maybe he ran screaming from the set of Teenage Kicks and the floor manager tried bringing him down. Watching Edmondson here and his turn last night in Miss Austen Regrets, you realise that the actor is so much better than his childish gurning to camera in TK. That shtick was funny 25 years ago, but it doesn’t cut it now, so it’s probably best to stick to the grown up stuff from now on.
Battlestar Galactica (Tuesday 9pm, Sky One)
Having found its mojo again sometime between the end of season three and the fabulous TV movie Razor, BSG is on brutal and blistering form in the first slice of this fourth and final season. Baltar desecrates a temple, an act which threatens to escalate into a full-on religious war, while the recently revealed Cylons are dealing with things in their own way. It’s a hard watch sometimes, but never less than rewarding. With BSG, who needs a remake of Blake’s 7?
The Apprentice (Wednesday 9pm, BBC1)
With the ratings soaring week after week, this is easily the most successful series of The Apprentice yet, so it’s a good job the tasks seem to be upping the ante accordingly. Tonight’s task is a case in point - it’s no mean feat to create a new occasion from scratch and market a greetings card to three of the country’s card manufacturers. The egos and guile on display in this series continue to be gob-smacking, and some of tonight’s team discussions raise the bar of stupidity to dizzying heights.
Sex and the City (Wednesday 9pm, Fiver)
Stupid name for a channel - makes it sound cheap as chips - but this digital spin-off from Five is embarking on a showing of Sex and the City. With the movie imminent, it’s a perfect time to go back and look at the series from the beginning. This double-bill of the first two episodes is eye opening and highlights the startling distance the adventures of Carrie and Co travelled by the final episode.
The Invisibles (Thursday 9pm, BBC1)
A promising new comedy drama starring Anthony Head, Warren Clarke and Dean Lennox Kelly. Safe cracker Maurice Riley (Head) and his best mate Syd return from a life of leisure on the Costa del Crime and pitch up in a small Devonshire village intending on going straight. But naturally, that would make a very boring series, so Maurice and Syd are soon on the rob again, helping out Sid’s son who’s in a spot of bother.
The Graham Norton Show (Thursday 10pm, BBC2)
Be still my beating heart! Sunday night TV idols Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers, aka self-made millionaire Jonathan Hart and his wife Jennifer (she gorgeous!) turn up for some sofa time with our favourite chat captain. TV legends don’t come much-bigger than these two, and Norton is sure to keep the fun factor high.
The Inbetweeners (Thursday 10pm, E4)
E4 steps into the fray with its own original sit-com about a group of teenagers at school on a quest to lose their virginity. Sounds like an episode of Hollyoaks if you ask me. Probably best avoided if you’re over the age of 15.
Apologies for the lateness of the review this week. To make up for it, we’ll start off with this week’s video compilation, which will launch in a separate window.
The theme this week was taking pop songs with strong lyrics and trying to act out the lyric. Which sounds faintly familiar, as it’s pretty much what the contestants do every week. Some managed it, others didn’t. I have to say the song choices weren’t particularly good for some of the Nancies this week, but the overall standard was better than last week’s particularly weak show. And Andrew was back in the studio after his Vegas sojourn, so there was no satellite delay to speak of — although, as we saw at the end of the results show, there’s a gulf the size of the Atlantic between the public’s taste and Andrew’s, it seems…
Ah, this is more like it! After last week’s pretty, yet confused tale of Ood kind, the Doctor and Donna return to Earth in a tale steeped in the legacy of Doctor Who. Lots of slick action, classic monsters (not that the general audience will remember the Sontarans), the return of military taskforce UNIT and a welcome appearance from Freema Agyeman as the wonderful Martha Jones.
Helen Raynor, who penned last year’s (unfairly) maligned Dalek two-parter, rises to the challenge here, delivering a script with a deftly simple premise that makes you wonder why you didn’t think of it yourself. Of course there’s a nicely sinister sci-fi yarn to be told about the prevalence of sat nav and those not-quite-human-voices that inhabit our cars these days. UNIT thinks there’s something up with ATMOS, a system bolted on to many of the world’s cars that eliminates emissions and comes with built-in sat nav. So what does a top-secret military organisation do when they can’t fathom something out? Simple, get newly-minted UNIT operative Martha Jones to summon their former scientific advisor to have a look-see.
As an addendum to my previous post, it would seem appropriate to point you all in the direction of this page from the ISIHAC website, featuring some gems from the late Humphrey Lytellton.
A very quick note to express how sad we here at TV Today were at the news that the legendary broadcaster Humphrey Lyttelton has passed away at the age of 86.
There aren’t really the words to express just how blessed we were as an audience to have been given so much by this unique talent, whether as a jazz musician, writer, broadcaster and, of course, his most famous role as the chairman of the long running I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue on Radio 4.
I will be spending much of the day listening to some classic episodes of ISIHAC and remember with laughter the many years of entertainment Humph has provided to millions of listeners. We thought he was indestructible - his memory and legacy surely will be.
The lovely Samantha has been robbed of her ultimate gentleman friend and the world robbed of a giant talent, the like of which I can guarantee we will never see again.
Guest host Julian Clary presides over the usual satirical look at the week gone by, with team captains Hislop and Merton who are tonight teamed with Ed Byrne and Andrew Neil.
The charms of this ITV comedy have thus far passed me by, but tonight’s episode may just pull me in thanks to an appearance by British TV legend Wendy Richard. It’s one of her first turns since saying goodbye to Pauline Fowler, but here she’s playing Sylvia, a character that puts Walford’s finest matriarch in the shade. Thinking that Sylvia’s been messing with her man, Madge is gunning for the bolshy interloper, leading to a showdown by the pool. It’s all good fun in a down at heel kind of way. But thankfully, Teenage Kicks it isn’t.
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (Friday 10.35pm, BBC1)
Blimey, Wossy has pulled together an eclectic line-up of chit chat tonight as he welcomes Ashton Kutcher, Russell Brand and Ronnie Corbett onto the sofa. Wonder if they’ll all end up as Facebook friends?
I remember the Sontarans off of classic series Doctor Who, but I doubt that most of the general audience will, so it’s quite amusing to see General Staal (Christopher Ryan) slarted all over the cover of this week’s Radio Times as if these potato heads have some significance. Still, the first of a two-part story is a stonker of an adventure for the Doctor and Donna, featuring the return of Martha Jones and UNIT. There’s action aplenty and the signature Doctor Who wit as the team take on the might of the war mongering Sontarans. Well, I’m excited anyway…
Always worth watching, but this week Love Soup has the added bonus of a guest appearance from comedy legend Ronnie Corbett. In addition, there’s the usual comedy of contrivance, which David Renwick always makes look effortless, sexual rivalry between Cleo and Millie and, in the middle of it all, sweet Alice, going through life with that wide-eyed, yet world weary charm. Perfect.
On the map tonight, which leads to Scotland, Jenny Éclair, Johnny Vegas and Doon MacKichan revisit some old haunts from the early days of their careers. There’s also a look at the inspiration for Ronald Searle’s St Trinian’s with a visit to St Trinnean’s school in Edinburgh. Gently undemanding.
A well made and very pretty historical drama, based on the letters of Jane Austen in the latter years of her life. Austen never married, and Olivia Williams brings a nicely reflective air to the 40-something Jane, pondering lost chances, just as her niece, Fanny, is experiencing the first flush of love. There are various suitors along the way, a great turn from Greta Scacchi as Jane’s elder sister, and a vein of sadness running through proceedings to make for a very satisfying insight into the lives of one of our greatest writers.
While filming The Scarlet Pimpernel in the sickeningly picturesque surroundings of Midsomer, the director is offed in creative style by a prop guillotine, thus bringing Inspector Barnaby and his faithful sidekick DS Jones into proceedings. There are suspects galore, as always, but as the director was such a terrible character his murder seems fair game, but we know that our plodding plods will get to the bottom of this before the final scene is in the can. You’ve got to love Midsomer Murders - it still has the courage to do exactly what it’s always done after all these years and still be supremely enjoyable and popular.
With no Gavin and Stacey (which ended on a disappointing note) last week, Pulling gets a final episode all to itself in the schedules. I have desperately tried to warm to Sharon Horgan’s brand of comedy, and have failed miserably, but perhaps that’s my mistake. Trying to warm to something that is, by it’s very nature, unlikeable and vile, is a hiding to nothing. Best to accept Pulling’s warts and all approach for what it is and forget any need for sentimentality. And look at Gavin and Stacey - with the exception of Uncle Bryn, Gwen and Mike, they were a pretty horrendous lot, so Pulling’s trio of modern women are hardly a huge leap away.
I am so pleased about this. Being Human has been one of the few dramas this year, outside The Fixer and He Kills Coppers, to engage me as a viewer. The notion of a flat share between a trio of supernatural creatures almost seems a little obvious, but Whithouse’s pilot script pulled it off with some style and originality. It was also blessed with some great performances, particularly Russell Tovey as reluctant werewolf George and Andrea Riseborough as sweet-natured ghost Annie.
It’s always a nervous time for the established casts of soaps when a new producer rocks up on the backlot, full of fresh ideas, new visions, story ideas and inevitably clutching an axe with feverish steel in their eyes.
It seems that this may not be the case with the arrival of incoming Coronation Street producer Kim Crowther, who it seems has gone out of her way to reassure the show’s cast, including many of the veteran old guard cast, that they still have a future on the show.
This pleases me and it points to the nation’s favourite soap being in safe hands. I’ve argued before that one of the most valuable assets to a soap are the veteran characters - your Ken Barlows, Rita Sullivans and Emily Bishops. These characters are absolutely steeped in the history of Coronation Street - they are a touchstone and keep the show relevant to those members of the audience that have been there since year dot. To axe these characters would do a disservice to the fabric of the show, and I’m pleased that Crowther has clearly recognised this crucial aspect of her new charge.
TV Today will be watching developments on Coronation Street under the new broom with a sharp eye.
Is the murder of a prison governor over a decade previously connected to the human remains pulled out of a canal? Probably, but whatever tenuous chains link these events together will no doubt be glossed over in Waking the Dead’s unique approach to plot development. I don’t care, I love this show. Trevor Eve dominates proceedings with his usual strength of character, making Boyd one of crime drama’s most lovable icons. Despite all the shouting and twitchiness.
As I’m still mourning the passing of Ken Stott’s take on Rebus, I have to wonder why ITV’s other Scottish crime drama hasn’t been put to pasture yet. It must be about due, but nevertheless, here is a new tale that has DCI Burke suspended when he is caught nipping out the back of an escort agency being raided by the vice squad. Oops! That can’t be good for his career prospects, and it’s up to his colleagues, including the ever-present DS Jackie Reade, to sort out a couple or murders. Try flicking backwards and forwards between this and Waking the Dead - it’ll probably make more sense that way.
If EastEnders was a Carry On film, Minty would be played by Bernard Bresslaw, Heather by Hattie Jacques and Peggy by erm… Barbara Windsor. Which just leaves Sid James taking on the mantle of Phil Mitchell. Tonight sees Minty and Heather’s “comedy” wedding storyline come to a head as they prepare for the big day, but things are complicated by the return of Hazel - who will Minty walk down the isle with? Kenneth Williams would be my bet.
Starbuck’s looking for Earth, Cally is trying to get to the bottom of why Chief Tyrol is acting weird (pssst, he’s a Cylon), and Lee is about to enter the political arena. Sounds like business as usual in the best sci-fi series ever to come out of America. Contentious, moi? It’s what we’re here for…
The most brilliantly bonkers drama on television comes to a close tonight as the winner of the competition is announced amidst more silliness from warring husband and wife duo Malcolm and Karina Faith. It’s utterly terrible, but utterly lovable for it. Did you vote for the winner? Find out tonight as one of two endings to be filmed is broadcast, depending on the result of the public vote. Bless ITV for trying, but I have a distinct feeling that we won’t be seeing a second series of Rock Rivals.
Heist (Wednesday 9pm, BBC4)
This addition to BBC4’s Medieval season slipped in under the radar, which is very telling. Kriss Marshall “stars” as Dick Puddlecote in this somewhat dubious “comedy” about an attempted robbery on the vault at Westminster Abbey in 1302. This is supposedly a true story, but it nobody involved in the production seems to have a clue what tone to play for, and the whole enterprise should be on CBeebies. If that wasn’t an insult to that august channel.
Rejoice as the Heroes return! Cry as you realise it’s not as good as you thought it was. Sorry, but Heroes definitely suffers from Emperor’s New Clothes syndrome, and that’s nowhere more apparent than in this opener to a shortened second season thanks to the WGA strike. Hiro has ended up in feudal Japan (which looks like a field somewhere in California), Claire has gone into hiding, and Mohinder is still droning on and on and on. While this show clearly has more going for it than a lot of dramas (Bionic Woman, for instance), it all feels like a bit too much effort to go through it all over again. Oh well, season three might change my mind.
Any chance to see one of my heroes, Martin Sheen, aka President Jed Bartlett off of The West Wing, in action is always good in my book. Tonight he joins Graham Norton for some frothy chat, and with somebody as witty and fast as Sheen, the end result should be very entertaining indeed.
After last week’s successful musical theatre-themed show, unfortunately this week the naff pop songs returned with a vengeance. As usual one or two songs had the potential for acting interpretation, but they were in the minority. With the theme this week being songs by divas who had rocked the Las Vegas circuit, pretty much the only MT song this week was the show opener, a roustabout version of Consider Yourself from all the Olivers and the remaining Nancies.
Kicking off the solo proceedings, Jodie sang Nine to Five. After last week’s showstopping rendition of Send in the Clowns, this risked a return to the cabaret style Jodie is more used to. A very word-heavy song, she managed to get the portray the emotion of the song without ever sacrifing either diction or pitch. If only all the other Nancies could say the same.
Samantha was next up, singing the Christina Aguilera song Hurt which I must profess to not knowing too well. There were plenty of vocal embellishments required, though, which seemed to cause Sam some difficulty in keeping in key. After working on portraying the emotion behind the song, she seemed to lose control in her voice. The judges in the studio liked it much better than previous weeks. Barry noted that the emotion worked both in close-up and as something that could be packed up in the back of a theatre. Which, I think, is one of the first times he’s actually given a perspicacious comment. Will wonders never cease?
Every year since it returned to our screens, the first three episodes of Doctor Who have treated us to life in the past, present and future. And so, after cutesy blobs of fat in the present and lava leviathans in ancient Pompeii, the Doctor takes Donna to the future — and not only that, but her first alien world to boot.
Unfortunately, that world is the Ood-Sphere, the homeworld of the subservient creatures first seen two series ago in the two-part story The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit. A world of trouble, then — and one in which we discover the rather shocking truth that Slavery Is Bad, Kids, via a lot of unnecessary running around and shouting.
Internet shortform drama Sofia’s Diary, a hit on social networking site Bebo, is to start airing on Five’s digital channel Fiver (aka the soon-to-be-renamed Five Life), the first such transfer of its kind in the UK
Ladies of Letters, based on the books and radio series of the same name, is to become ITV3’s first original drama commission, with Maureen Lipman and Anne Reid taking the principal roles
Independent production company Talent Television has hired former BBC light entertainment editor Jonathan Glazier as director of entertainment, replacing John Kaye Cooper who is moving to ITV as controller of entertainment
Sunday’s Bafta TV Awards will see the Bafta Fellowship awarded to Bruce Forsyth. Didn’t he do well!
It’s Gail Platt’s 50th birthday (actress Helen Worth is 57, fact fans), and how does she find herself celebrating? By having a troubled tearaway son who pushed her down the stairs up in court. Is this the day we finally see Devil boy David Platt get his comeuppance? It seems likely, especially after a he took a baseball bat to most of the Street (and Ken Barlow’s unmentionables), and it seems the lad is looking forward to a bit of correctional therapy at Her Majesty’s pleasure. Can Gail sleep easy? What do you think?
Jack Dee pops in for a return visit as guest host of the perennial panel show that still earns its keep in the schedules after donkey’s years on air. On hand, as always, are Ian Hislop and Paul Merton who have been at this game since 1990. The gags are still on the money, and watching HIGNFY now makes you realise just how empty Friday nights can feel without it. My Family follows at 9.30pm.
I’m sorry, but I just cannot help myself. I find that there’s something infinitely, hatefully fascinating about Teenage Kicks. Tonight, Vernon ends up in hospital after going to a rave. Inspired stuff!
Back to 6.20pm for this episode of Doctor Who that sees the Doctor and Donna travel to the Planet of the Ood, the aliens with mince meat spewing out of their mouths last seen in The Satan Pit. As monsters go, the Ood are perhaps the most effective deployed in new Who, and this episode is certainly very pretty on the visuals, with some sinister undertones bubbling away. However, the plot is slightly thin, sacrificed for lots of running around corridors (yay!) and some overtly heavy moralising about slavery. Still, Tim McInnerny makes a suitably icy villain, Catherine Tate continues to impress and David Tennant is as good as ever, so I’m not going to grumble too much. Doctor Who Confidential follows over on BBC3 at 7.05pm and TV Today will bring you the usual review before the weekend is out. In the meantime, a preview clip from the episode is below:
In the red corner, Graham Norton! In the blue corner, Piers Morgan! The spat between Norton and Morgan is almost as entertaining as the shows they are fronting. Long may it continue.
I’ll be watching the ratings for this very closely, and if you’ve tuned in expecting to see episode two, don’t be confused, this is episode three. Blame the footie!
There’s something quite comforting about this geographical ramble around locations that have shaped some of Britain’s comedy talent over the years. Alan Carr visits Northampton Town FC where his dad was manager for a time, Spitting Image creators Peter Fluck and Roger Law drop in at the workshop in Cambridge where there puppet satire show was developed, while Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins revisit Cambridge Footlights, where they met as students. The Comedy Map of Britain isn’t particularly startling or slick, but it is narrated by Alan Whicker, and for anyone with a passing interest in TV comedy, it’s a must.
I love the TV Baftas (or is that Batas?). I usually spend the evening with a big bag of crisps and a bottle of wine, shouting at the screen at some of the diabolical decisions made on the night. It’s great sport, but this year I’m rooting for Cranford to pull in a massive haul, and I’d like to see Life on Mars come away with something, but The Street will probably take that one again. Graham Norton hosts the all-star gathering at the London Palladium. We assume Piers Morgan won’t be presenting an award…
Foyle’s War (Sunday 8pm, ITV1)
If the Baftas aren’t your thing, then Foyle’s War might just be a suitable alternative. We have assurances, as mentioned last week, that the rumours of Foyle’s death might have been premature, but it’s still 1945, with VE Day just around the corner. But before he can take it easy for a bit, our likeable plod must solve one last case involving ex-soldiers and a body in a museum. Take care Inspector, don’t stay away too long.
Will the final episode of this second series of the best comedy on television be able to deliver? One things for sure, Nessa will as she goes into labour early, leading to mad dashes across the country and energetic trading of great one-liners. In the midst of the baby crisis, it’s easy to forget the plight of Gavlar and Stace as they have been struggling to keep their marriage together. If there’s one thing this effortless comedy has taught us, it’s that love will win out in the end. Have faith.
We don’t usually cast our eyes in the direction of sport around the corridors of TV Today towers, but this doesn’t really count as we’re talking about presenting talent, not the fellas who kick the balls around on the pitch. I note with some amusement Ian Wright has quit his role as a football pundit for BBC Sport, claiming that he had been cast in the role of a “comedy jester” between colleagues such as Alans Hansen and Shearer.
Um… if this is a plea to be taken seriously in his work by Ian Wright, who has been a pundit for the BBC for many years, it might help his case if, with the timing of a comedy jester, I wasn’t able to write the next line…
Ian Wright will present the new series of Gladiators on Sky One this summer.
Never mind eh, Ian? We’re sure this will bring you some credibility as a serious presenter.
Apologies for the lateness, but here are the week 5 videos on YouTube as uploaded by the BBC, arranged into their correct chronological order.
Unfortunately, there’s no official video of the sing-off available on YouTube this week. However, it is available on the BBC website. And of course, the BBC iPlayer carries full versions of Saturday’s show and Sunday’s results programme for another couple of days.
A very quick piece today, but I wanted to bring this lovely story to your attention as it has tickled me no end, harking back to a simpler time of broadcasting, more innocent… when BBC executives fought dirty to fend off the oncoming blight of that bally commercial television thingy.
I’d long known about the notion that on the night ITV launched in 1955, it was decided to give a popular character in The Archers a nasty send-off to scupper the chances of the new enterprise attracting an audience. And so Grace Archer, as played by Ysanne Churchman, perished in the Grey Gables fire on 22 September 1955.
But with the opening of the BBC Archive, it’s quite enlightening that there is some quite plain speaking documentation relating to this guerrilla action against ITV doing the rounds, startling when you consider the BBC’s cosy, Auntie Beeb persona at the time.
“The more I think about it, the more I believe that a death of a violent kind in The Archers, timed, if possible, to diminish interest in the opening of commercial television in London, is a good idea.”
said H. Rooney Pelletier, controller of the BBC Light Programme where The Archers resided, in a memo at the time.
I love the almost clinical brutality of this statement, and it’s a fascinating insight into a Corporation that was perhaps petrified for its continued future at the time. The moral of this story being, considering the climate the BBC operates in today, that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
In this week’s print edition of The Stage, Zoe Tyler continues her exclusive column reviewing I’d Do Anything.
In this week’s column, she looks at the two actresses in the sing-off, Keisha and Tara, and concludes that on the sing-off alone, Tara should have stayed.
Of the Welsh actress who left the show this weekend, she also says:
She’s not Nancy, but would make a fabulous Sandy in Grease. David Ian, are you listening? Give the girl a job. She’d be great.
Read more about what’s in this week’s paper from our In The Paper blog.
I do love ITV sometimes. They finally pluck up the courage to stump up the cash for a top new US import and stick it front and centre in a prime time slot on Saturday night. It debuts to encouraging ratings. Hurrah! And then ITV has to put their hands up and say “Oops! There are nine episodes of this series, but we’ve only got time to show eight. So we won’t bother airing episode two. Hope that’s okay. Bye!”
Yes, this is the story of Pushing Daises, the quirky US drama starring Lee Pace and Blighty’s very own Anna Friel, the first episode of which formed part of a very strong night, alongside Britain’s Got Talent, in the ratings for ITV last Saturday. The episode pulled in a very healthy 5.7 million, a figure many (most?) ITV shows can only dream about these days. I’ll admit to being surprised by this figure (and I’m glad to be proved wrong, of course). With a target audience of bright young things who should be out having a good time on a Saturday night (after Doctor Who, of course), I felt ITV had misjudged the night and the ratings would be lacklustre at best. Pushing Daisies has a slightly oddball feel, more suited to a mid-week slot a la Desperate Housewives - or so I thought.
Hurrah! Shouty detective Peter Boyd is back for a new series of the BBC’s top-rated crime drama, along with the rest of the Cold Case team. Boyd’s lost the beard, which is odd, as Gil Grissom is now whiskerless in CSI - am I detecting a pattern here? It’s all business as usual, which means impenetrable plots, lots of shouting in the autopsy room, Grace telling Boyd to calm down, and incredible leaps of logic in the final reel to solve the case. And it’s as brilliant and bonkers as ever. This two-part story concludes tomorrow night.
