December 2009 Archives

Here at TV Today, we’ve been extending our remit with regular radio previews under the Turn off the TV brand for well over a year now. But really, all such previews are are a new-fangled 21st Century version of a well-worn tradition: circling the programmes that interest you in the new Radio Times.

At no time of year is the careful (or scrappy, depending on which member of my family you are) markup more essential, or more fun, than in the ‘legendary’ Radio Times double issue.

Over the last couple of weeks, our friends over at the Radio 4 blog have been showing how some of the station’s most famous names have selected their key shows to listen to. Kirsty Young may have been a bit self-serving when she selected her own programme, Desert Island Discs, but since it was the edition featuring Sir Michael Caine and she places him in her top three guests of all time, we can forgive her.

On the blog, they have also shared some of Timothy Bentinck’s choices. The actor, best known as the voice of David Archer on The Archers, singles out Boxing Day’s Afternoon Play, an adaptation of Educating Rita starring Bill Nighy. Bentinck recently completed a run in the same role at the Watermill, Newbury, in which he was described by The Stage’s reviewer as “perfect as the alcoholic professor who fights his conscience …. both pathetic and poignant”. And of course Radio 4 controller Mark Damazer has drawn our attentions to some of his channel’s output.

The Radio 4 blog team have put a far greater collection of scans up on the photo sharing website Flickr. Joiing Young, Bentinck, and Damazer include selections from presenters Evan Davis, Eddie Mair, Julian Worricker, Libby Purves, Fi Glover and Quentin Cooper as well as Director of Audio & Music Tim Davie.

Turn off the TV will be back in the New Year. In the meantime, Nick’s Smurthwaite’s Christmas picks are still available — and of course you can use the Flickr pages to draw your attention to some of the key programmes available over the air and on iPlayer over the holiday period.

There aren’t that many television dramas which can truly claim to having changed the world. One of the few that can, in its own way, was 1975’s The Naked Civil Servant, produced for Thames Television by the late Verity Lambert and starring John Hurt as Quentin Crisp. For many people, it was their first representation of an overtly camp gay man that showed the human being underneath, and helped encourage both straight people to be more tolerant and gay people to be more self-confident.

Now, some 34 years later, Hurt reprises his role in a one-off story of Crisp’s latter years, An Englishman in New York, showing on ITV1 this coming Monday.

Warning: spoilers after the jump

While we wait for E4 to start showing the full series of Glee in the new year after last week’s glimpse of the pilot (missed it? It’s available on iTunes right now!), in the US it’s on a midseason break and won’t return until April.

Despite having only aired nine episodes so far, the show has left its mark on American high schools: so much show that two, in particular, have been to tremendous efforts to create all-out musical extravaganzas.

The Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special has quickly become something of a tradition in the BBC1 Christmas Day schedules. If my memory is correct (and I’m sure I’ll be swiftly corrected if it isn’t) it has previously been recorded prior to the live final of the series proper, which would make this the first one recorded with the series winner actually known. Whether that’s the case or not, Monday’s recording of the 2009 Christmas show certainly had an end-of-term party feeling about it.

I was there (come Christmas Day, if you see any shots of Zoe Lucker sitting in the audience, there’s a chance you’ll see me over her left shoulder) for my first time in the Strictly studio.

There were some spectacular performances, and it was genuinely difficult to choose which one to vote for (it being a prerecorded show, the half of the scores normally allocated by telephone voting are instead determined by the votes of the studio audience).

Of course I wouldn’t be so crass as to give away the winning dance — but there are some observations that some souls may consider as being spoilers. For that reason, be warned if you wish to follow me after the jump…

Nick Smurthwaite writes: Who needs the telly when the festive offerings on talk radio are so irresistible?

Kirsty Young welcomes national treasures Michael Caine (Radio 4, December 20 and Christmas Day) and David Tennant (Radio 4, December 27) to Desert Island Discs over the holiday. The latter reveals that as a boy he kept a book in which he noted what was in the pop charts every week.

The outgoing Doctor Who pops up again on Who on Who (Radio 2, December 29), this time in the role of interviewer. His subject is Russell T Davies, who brought the Doctor back from the dead in 2005, introducing the charismatic time traveller to a whole new generation.

I wonder if Sir Michael will be tuning in to the fresh adaptation of Educating Rita (Radio 4, Boxing Day) with Laura Dos Santos — a new name to me — in the title role and the estimable Bill Nighy attempting to reinvent Caine’s old part?

Listen out too for Stephen Merchant’s take on Galton and Simpson in Very Nearly an Armful: The Galton and Simpson Story (Radio 2, Christmas Day), looking back on the writing duo’s success with Hancock’s Half Hour and Steptoe and Son, with the help of contemporary comedy writers such as Ben Elton and David Mitchell.

The News at Bedtime (Radio 4, Christmas Eve) tries to convert old nursery rhymes and songs into up to the minute new stories, with Jack Dee and Peter Capaldi as anchormen Tweedledum and Tweedledee.

Paul Morley examines Elvis Presley’s big-screen career, including missed opportunities — West Side Story, Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, etc. — in Elvis: Movie King or Celluloid Sell-Out? (Radio 2, December 28), while Paul Gambaccini bravely tries to sum up the legacy of the Beatles — 13 albums in seven years — in The Beatles: Here, There and Everywhere (Radio 2, December 30 and New Year’s Eve). Helping him work it out are Mark Ronson, Mika, Jackson Brown, Rick Rubin and Tom Petty.

Last Friday I went to the press launch for So You Think You Can Dance, which will be BBC1’s major new talent search series for Saturday nights. Kicking off on January 2 with a prerecorded show that covers both the auditions and “choreography camp” (the equivalent of Vegas Week on the US parent), things highkick into gear with the first live show on January 9.

Nearer the time, we’ll have a closer look at the 14 finalists (unlike shows like The X Factor or even the BBC’s own theatre shows, the people reaching the live shows are no secret). Until then, here are a few videos to whet your appetite…

At the press conference, judge Nigel Lythgoe, who has presided over every year of SYTYCD in the US and is returning to his native UK for this series, claimed he wanted to ditch the “Nasty Nigel” tag he acquired during his role on Popstars (“Call me Nurturing Nigel,” he said). From the looks of things, though, the tag’s going to stick with him:

Unlike certain ITV shows, which spin out their auditions rounds by including as many of the very worst auditions as they can get away with, BBC talent shows tend to concentrate on the better auditionees. That’s not to say they don’t include footage of the worst ones, though — let’s face it, we all love a bit of schadenfraude:

But enough of the hopeless — the real key to making this show a success is the sheer talent on display. And judging by some of these auditions, we’ll be in for a treat:

• So You Think You Can Dance starts on Saturday January 2, 2009. Stay tuned to TV Today for dancer profiles, reviews and (hopefully) a few surprises…

Keen-eared radio listeners will spot a one-off show on Radio 5 this year from Olly and Helen, looking back over 2009. Those of us in the know will realise that this is the first radio commission for the Sony-nominated podcasting duo behind Answer Me This, one of the leading indep­endent comedy podcasts in the UK. A delightful audio landscape punctuated with viewer questions, it is recommended.

Staying with traditional formats, you have to catch Kevin Pollack’s Chat Show, available as both an audio and video podcast. American actor and comedian Kevin Pollack (Willow, The Usual Suspects) not only reduces the chat show to a black room, two chairs and a table, but takes the accepted seven-minute slot and overruns slightly, with the single-guest shows regularly running for more than two hours.

Back in the UK and Robert Llewellyn (Red Dwarf, Scrap­heap Challenge) has his own unique spin on the same idea. What if you were to give a lift to people, and chat with them while driving? That’s CarPool and has now clocked up close to 50 episodes, with a eclectic mix of British talent including Arthur Smith and Jonathan Ross, relaxing and chatting with no agenda.

With an election coming up, the internet is going to be one of the revolutionary areas that could affect the result. Iain Dale, already one of the UK’s top political bloggers, has launched [Seven Days(http://www.toryradio.com). Part of the Tory Radio website, this weekly podcast with Jonathan Sheppard casts an - admittedly biased - eye over the last week in the political landscape.

Finally, if you’re looking for more science after the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures, you need The Naked Scientists. Chaired by Dr Chris Smith, the podcast is a weekly look at the serious and not so serious questions around us, including why holding the aerial improves your TV reception and why poking a stem cell can change its fate.

If David Tennant isn’t your cup of tea, then the BBC isn’t going to be for you over Christmas. He departs his role as the Doctor over two Doctor Who specials (BBC1, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day). John Simm returns as the Doctor’s nemesis, the Master, more unhinged and dangerous than ever. With supporting characters played by Bernard Cribbins and Catherine Tate also returning, it’s likely to be the highest-rated drama of the season.

Tennant-mania continues with a specially filmed adaptation of the RSC’s Hamlet (BBC2, Boxing Day), with the actor reprising his role as the Prince of Denmark and the rest of Gregory Doran’s lavishly praised cast, including Patrick Stewart as Claudius and Penny Downie as Gertrude, also returning. In addition, Tennant will be a guest on comedy general knowledge show QI (BBC1, Christmas Eve), joins his former Doctor Who colleague on Catherine Tate: Nan’s Christmas Carol (BBC1, Christmas Day) and can be found reading the CBeebies Bedtime Story (CBeebies, December 21-Christmas Eve). Oh, and he’ll be starring in the BBC1 idents between programmes. There really will be no escaping him. Don’t try finding refuge on radio - he’s more or less taking over there as well.

One way to find sanctuary will be to hop on the ever-encroaching railway that continues to head towards Cranford (BBC1, December 20 and 27). The spinster ladies of the bonnet-clad idyll return for two new episodes penned by Heidi Thomas, with the small community ever more changed as the great iron way brings trouble with it. An already strong cast is joined by Jonathan Pryce, Celia Imrie and Lesley Sharp.

If all the lace and whimsy get a bit much, you may well appreciate the gentle ribbing that the costume drama genre receives in Victoria Wood’s Midlife Christmas (BBC1, Christmas Eve). The comedian’s first TV special for seven years spoofs both Cranford and Lark Rise to Candleford, as well as reuniting us with pretentious actress Bo Beaumont (Julie Walters), still struggling to escape her past as the woman who played Mrs Overall in Acorn Antiques.

Elsewhere in the comedy schedules, the final episodes of Gavin & Stacey (BBC1, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day) eschew the usual seasonal trappings. Not so another special from The Royle Family (BBC1, Christmas Day), nor the glorious, semi-improvised world of Outnumbered (BBC1, December 27), where the only predictable thing is that the children will gain the upper hand over their exasperated parents.

When it comes to unruly children, there are none more sinister than the two orphans left under the care of a young governess (Michelle Dockery) in The Turn of the Screw (BBC1, December 30). Continuing the tradition of the television Christmas ghost story, Henry James’ novella has been dramatised by Sandy Welch and also stars Sue Johnston and Dan Stevens.

ITV, meanwhile, mainly concentrates on its core strengths over the festive period, with Ant and Dec’s Christmas Show (ITV1, Boxing Day) complementing a range of celebrity light entertainment shows over the festive period. On the drama front, the ongoing series of Poirot adaptations continues with a lavish Appointment with Death (ITV1, Christmas Day), while present-day crime drama Taggart celebrates its 100th episode (ITV1, Christmas Eve).

In previous years, Sky 1 has relied upon big-budget fantasy adaptations for Christmas. This year, its drama offering is lower key, but all the more interesting for it. Ten Minute Tales (Sky 1, from December 21) is a series of ten-minute short films, each of which is completely free of dialogue. With performances from actors of the calibre of Timothy Spall and Bill Nighy and with writers including Coraline author Neil Gaiman, each story promises to be a little gem.

But it’s ITV1 that delivers one of the best dramas of the season. While the BBC remakes yet another sci-fi classic, The Day of the Triffids (BBC1, December 28 and 29), a quick flip of the channel reveals An Englishman in New York (ITV1, December 28). A sequel to 1975’s ground-breaking The Naked Civil Servant, John Hurt reprises his role as Quentin Crisp. Capitalising on his new-found fame after the original film is shown in Britain and America, Crisp moves to New York, where his one-man shows go down a storm.

But it’s when he dismisses the AIDS epidemic as a ‘fad’ that he finds out not only who his friends are, but is forced to reflect on the persona he has built up for himself. It’s a highly moving film that, while unlikely to have the same lasting effect as its predecessor, shows that ITV drama can still deliver powerful moments.

• Square Eyes previews will return in the New Year

Coronation Street (Friday 7.30pm, ITV1)

Blimey, Nigel Havers has been getting about recently, popping up in US drama Brothers and Sisters and in a cracking tale from The Sarah Jane Adventures. In tonight’s Corrie he guests as one half of a glam couple that turns up to the Weatherfield Trader’s Association Christmas party. His other half is played by Rula Lenska, and Audrey is certainly taken with this gorgeous husband and wife team.

In the Spirit of Diaghilev (Friday 7.45pm, BBC4)

Edited highlights from the Sadler’s Wells centenary celebration of the Ballet Russes, complete with rehearsal footage of all the many talents, on stage and behind the scenes, that brought this excellent piece together. God bless you, BBC4.

Heston’s Christmas Feast (Friday 9pm, C4)

Heston conjures up an array of clever Christmas eating for a group of celebrity diners. Wot, no turkey sandwich?

Sherlock Holmes Weekend (from Saturday, 6.55am, ITV3)

What better way to spend a lazy Saturday before Christmas than in the company of arguably the definitive take on Conan Doyle’s great detective? Jeremy Brett is note perfect in a selection of vintage adventures from ITV’s rarely bettered Sherlock Holmes adaptations.

Merlin (Saturday 5.45pm, BBC1)

A stirring finale to what has been a cracking series once it got going. After being freed by Merlin at the end of last week’s episode, The Great Dragon is opening a can of whup ass on Camelot, leading to Arthur and Merlin setting out to find the last of the dragonlords, the only man with the skill to stop the carnage. It’s good stuff, and always pleasing to see a show get a handle on what it’s about.

Strictly Come Dancing - the Final (Saturday 6.35pm/8.40pm BBC1/BBC HD)

It’s the final of what I’ve found to be a thoroughly enjoyable contest this year, despite various moments of controversy across the weeks. Personally, I think the right couples are in the final, with both Ricky and Chris representing the best qualities of Strictly. Ricky Whittle, a genuinely stunning, talented dancer, and Chris, the have-a-go celeb who has improved across the weeks and gathered a strong following. Perhaps it should have been Ricky and Ali in the final based on talent, but when will people learn this is not purely a talent contest? Until the results are based purely on the judges’ vote, then Strictly will always be more popularity contest than talent show.

Cranford (Sunday 9pm, BBC1/BBC HD)

Christmas officially starts for me with this first of two feature length returns to the delightful town of Cranford, inspired by the books of Elizabeth Gaskell. It’s a few years after our first visit to the area, and the railway comes ever closer, bringing with it some new faces. But rest assured, Miss Matty (Judi Dench) is still firmly ensconced at the centre of town life, with able support from a colourful array of memorable characters. Imelda Staunton, Julia McKenzie and Francesca Annis also return for this very welcome outing for the citizens of Cranford. Delightful.

The Fattest Man in Britain (Sunday 9pm, ITV1)

Caroline Aherne co-writes this enjoyable comedy drama starring Timothy Spall as Georgie Godwin, who literally could be the fattest man in Britain. His agent (a surprisingly good Bobby Ball - yes, really) is charging tourists to come through the door and gawp at this modern day circus sideshow, but is there a challenger to Georgie’s title? Good fun, and Spall, as you’d expect, is marvellous.

“He’s the best student I’ve ever had!” quips actor Brian Cox as he takes his latest charge through Hamlet’s most famous soliloquy, in a video which is getting lots of viral play at the moment:

For more serious discussions about Hamlet, the BBC Archives has released another of its collections, this time featuring a range of discussions on playing the Prince of Denmark. Featuring John Gielgud, David Warner, Jonathan Miller and more, it’s an invaluable resource for anybody interested in tackling one of theatre’s most iconic roles.

• BBC Archive: Talking Hamlet

Here We Come Radio 4, 10.30am
The Monkees were the world’s first “manufactured” boy band. Mancunian Davy Jones, the only Brit in the group, contributes a rare interview to this documentary fronted by John Waite.

Saturday Play: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Radio 4, Saturday 2.30pm
Kevin Eldon, Burn Gorman and Zubin Varla are the Scarecrow, Tinman and Lion in thiss new adaptation of L Frank Baum’s classic children’s story. Amelia Clarkson is Dorothy Gale, the young girl who gets whisked off to a magical land from her home in Kansas. Emma Fielding stars as the Witches of the North, South and West.

Even Better Than the Real Thing Radio 2, Saturday 10pm
Some thirty years ago, before the Now! That’s What I Call Music series made pop compilations respectable, the Top of the Pops albums tried something similar but on a much cheaper budget. Sharing the name with the BBC’s pop show despite being unrelated to it, the series of pop albums had just as tenuous a relationship with the music inspiring it — rather than being the pop songs in the singles charts, they were cover versions by tribute artists.

Elaine Paige on Sunday Radio 2, Sunday 1pm
With guest performances from the cast of the Arts Theatre, London’s A Christmas Carol.

Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol Radio 7, Sunday 1pm
An adaptation of one of the most famous Victorian Christmas fables ever, starring Michael Gough as Scrooge and narrated by Freddie Jones.

Classic Serial: Matilda Radio 4, Sunday 3pm
Roald Dahl’s delightful children’s novel about a five-year-old genius receives the radio adaptation treatment. Nichola McAuliffe and Claire Rushbrook star, Lauren Mote plays Matilda, and Lenny Henry provides the linking narration.

Woman’s Hour Drama: Someone Like You Radio 4, Monday-Friday 10.45am & 7.45pm
Continuing the Dahl theme, here Charles Dance acts as storyteller for five short, dark comic tales by the author.

Afternoon PLay: McLevy Radio 4, Monday 2.15pm
Brian Cox returns as the Victorian detective for a new series of four dramas, playing out over the next four weeks. This week’s episode, Bolt from the Blue, sees McLevy investigating student pranksters at university who may be associated with a body found floating in Leith docks.

The Santa Tapes Radio 4, Monday-Thursday 3.45pm
Keeping Tradition Alive at Christmas Radio 2, Monday-Thursday 10pm
Two programmes looking at some of the more traditional aspects of Christmas, from tales of people who have donned the red fat suit to carolling traditions around the UK.

Afternoon Play: Black Hearts in Battersea Radio 4, Wednesday & Thursday 2.15pm
Joan Aiken’s children’s adventure is dramatised by Lin Coghlan and plays out over two days. It is the 18th cenutry, and young orphan Simon (Skins’ Joe Dempsie) arrives in London to study art, but soon finds himself caught up in a plot to overthrow the king. John Rowe and Benidorm’s Sheila Reid also star.

The News at Bedtime Radio 4, Thursday & Friday 6.15pm
A seven part comedy series, continuing next week, which sees Jack Dee and Peter Capaldi as newsreaders Tweedledum and Tweedledee, reporting on events in Nurseryland using the conventions of modern broadcast journalism. The first episode covers a young boy Jack and the nasty side effects of the genetically modified beans he has been planting.

Junior Choice Christmas Radio 2, Friday 9am
Ah, a memory from my youth returns, as Ed “Stewpot” Stewart revives his request show for children. Well, it is Christmas!

Afternoon Play: The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Radio 4, Friday 2.15pm & 3.15pm
Two new episodes of the radio adaptation of Alexander McCall Smith’s Botswana-set whimsical mystery stories with Clare Benedict as Mma Ramotswe, Nadine Marshall as Mma Makutsi and Ben Onwukwe as Mr JLB Matekoni.

The press launch for BBC1’s So You Think You Can Dance is tomorrow. TV Today will be there, of course, and we’ll also be glued to the screens when it airs in the new year.

It’ll have competition, though, as Sky 1 launches its competing show, Got To Dance with a warm-up show at 8pm on Sunday. Presented by Davina McCall, dance judges are West End star Adam Garcia (seen this time last year as the dance teacher in Britannia High), Ashley Banjo, head dancer and choreographer of Britain’s Got Talent winning street dance troupe Diversity, and Pussycat Doll Kimberley Wyatt.

Sky has been running a series of trailers for the new show, one of which even ran during the X Factor finals on ITV1. Here below, though, is the full 90-second promo featuring presenter Davina McCall paying tribute to a number of famous dance routines. It’s like Let’s Dance for Comic Relief without the comedy:

For more on Got to Dance, visit the Sky 1 website.

Move Like Michael Jackson BBC3, Monday 8.30pm & 9.30pm, Tuesday 9pm, Wednesdqay 10pm
Ahead of next year’s BBC1 Saturday night dance extravaganza So You Think You Can Dance? (which, rest assured, TV Today will be telling you all about nearer the time), BBC3 launches its own, smaller scale, talent show. The prize is the opportunity to perform a dance tribute to MJ at the official tribute concert in 2010. With input from Jackson’s key choreographer Lavelle Smith Jr and a judging panel including casting director Mark Summers, performer Jamelia and Michael’s brother Jermaine Jackson, the series culmniates with a live final this coming Sunday.

Jamie’s Family Christmas Channel 4, from Tuesday 8pm
Pukka Yuletide fare prepared by Jamie Oliver, and with various members of his family helping or hindering. I’m not sure how well stripping five programmes across four days will work for a cookery show, but I suppose it’s better than starting a weekly series back in November.

Glee E4, Tuesday 9pm
Can. Not. Wait. This comedy series from US broadcaster Fox has been taking the American market by storm — and, judging from the numbers of friends who have been downloading episodes from the internet, is going to be just as huge here. Following the fortunes of a high school glee club (think school choirs with the sort of campery of some of the Last Choir Standing numbers turned up to 111) the series combines kick-ass musical arrangements of a wide variety of numbers from different genres with storylines that are both hilarious and moving. If you saw Joe McElderry performing Don’t Stop Believin’ on this weekend’s X Factor and liked the song, you’ll love the arrangement on display here.

This one-off, labelled a ‘sneak peek’, seems to be the pilot episode for the first season. The series proper starts in the New Year, and apparently improves upon the promise seen in this week’s episode.

True Stories: The Last American Freak Show More4, Tuesday 10pm
A controversial documentary about a group of performers with disabilities who wholeheartedly embrace the “freak show” and use their bodies as part of their act. It’s a programme which, while asking all sorts of questions about audiences and their/our attraction to such shows, at least reclaims the notion of “freak” from the exploitative documentary that both Channel 4 and Five have indulged in.

The Royal Variety Performance ITV1, Wednesday 7.30pm
Over fifty years since the RVP was last hosted in Blackpool, this year the show rolled back into town. Hosted by Peter Kay from the Opera House, the bill includes Faryl Smith, Britain’s Got Talent winners Diversity and Bette Midler. Read The Stage’s review here.

Buzzcocks - The Doctor Who Special BBC2, Wednesday 10pm
David Tennant would have been good enough as a guest host for Never Mind the Buzzcocks, but everything is stepped up a level as part of the BBC’s ongoing eulogy to the departing Doctor. His Doctor Who co-stars Catherine Tate (Donna Noble) and Bernard Cribbins (Wilfred Mott) are guest panellists, and there’ll be cameos from TARDISes, Daleks, Ood and probably much more.

A Child’s Christmas in Wales BBC4, Thursday 10pm
While Gavin & Stacey continues on BBC1 and showcases Ruth Jones’ skills in writing and delivering deadpan comedy, here Jones displays a much different side to her acting talents. Inspired by Dylan Thomas’s short story but set in the 1980s, Jones stars with Mark Lewis-Jones as the parents who host the extended family’s Christmas celebrations in their Welsh terraced house.

Mister Eleven (Friday 9pm, ITV1)

Despite the usual likable performance from Michelle Ryan, this damp squib of a romantic comedy drama isn’t really worth the time of day. It’s based on a shaky premise, with Ryan’s numbers obsessed brainiac holding out to marry her eleventh sexual partner as that’s what the statistics say will be her optimum partner. Er, what? Amazing she got to her eleventh partner with a hang up like that, as most men would probably run away screaming. That being said, put this against Big Top and it looks like a Poliakoff epic.

Friday Night with Jonathan Ross (Friday 10.35pm, BBC1)

As Sir Terry of Wogan begins his final days in the chair of the most coveted slot on radio, Ross should, we hope, give due reverence to this genius of the radio genre in tonight’s interview. Hopefully Sir Tel will be able to run rings round JR if he starts playing up.

Cheryl Cole’s Night In (Saturday 6.30pm, ITV1)

A night in with Cheryl Cole you say? How could we possibly resist? Without the protection of her fellow Girls Aloud or The X Factor hoopla, will she be a LE natural? Bet now!

The X Factor (Saturday 7.30pm, ITV1)

It’s summat about a final (although we don’t get the results until tomorrow). This year’s competition has passed me by, but as I have Joe in the office sweep, I’m firmly behind a performer I haven’t heard croon one single note. Go Joe!

The British Comedy Awards (Saturday 9.30pm, ITV1)

Jonathan Ross is back at the helm for this year’s awards, but I can’t really get much enthusiasm going, to be honest. Do we honestly care any more? Although, I fully expect Big Top to make a good showing in next year’s nominations.

The Thick of It (Saturday 10.10pm, BBC2/BBC HD)

This brilliant, brilliant series comes to an end this evening, and it’s all change at the centre of British politics as Malcolm Tucker has dramatically spun himself on to the dole queue. As Nicola waits for Malcolm to jump out of filing cabinets, the sweary spin-meister may not be as finished as it looked last week. And there is another appearance from the magnificent David Haig as Steve Fleming, giving a performance that is to die for. Hopefully this isn’t the last we’ve seen of The Thick of It.

Sports Personality of the Year (Sunday 7pm, BBC1)

It’s a TV staple at this time of year, and is a decent alternative if you’re not into the singing shenanigans on ITV.

The X Factor Final (Sunday 7.30pm, ITV1)

Will I be 10 quid richer come Monday morning? It’s all up to Joe!

Small Island (Sunday 9pm, BBC1/BBC HD)

Concluding part of this excellent adaptation of Andrea Levy’s novel. Britain in the post war years is as challenging as ever for the characters whose lives entwine at various points. Gilbert and Hortense find that Britain still isn’t the welcoming home they were promised, and Queenie comes face to face with the past, which has some far-reaching consequences.

If you haven’t heard about EastEnders: E20 yet, you will next month. Part of the general EastEnders 25th anniversary celebrations, E20 is a spin-off web-only series about a group of teenagers who live in a squat in Walford that starts in January.

Fatboy (played by Ricky Norwood), Zsa Zsa Carter (Emer Kenny), Mercy Olubunmi (Bunmi Mojekwu) and Leon Small (Sam Attwater) — pictured from left to right above — will be taking up residence in 89b George Street, in the same building as the flat currently occupied by Amira (Preeya Kalidas).

The theme tune for the series was created as the result of a competition in conjunction with Radio 1. The aim was to get people remixing Simon May’s classic theme — and the winning remix was created by 21-year-old Carl Darling.

The new E20 theme - and my initial impressions - are after the jump…

Shelved
Radio 4, Saturday 10.30am
What reasons could there be for a TV programme to be made, but never shown? Shaun Ley looks at three examples from the 1970s in this programme — which seems a bit stingy, as there’s potential for a full half-hour on each. An episode of The Professionals dealt with far-right racist organisations at a time when the National Front was very active — but it was dropped from the schedules at short notice. The final episode of the phenomenally popular World War II resistance drama Secret Army has never been shown. Set 25 years after the events of the main series, it would see the characters reflecting on the whole point of the resistance, even suggesting that in fighting the Nazis, the threat of communism had been overlooked.

The third story dealt with is the Doctor Who story Shada. Written by Douglas Adams and originally intended to conclude Tom Baker’s 1979-80 season, location filming and a small amount of studio scenes had been recorded before industrial action at the BBC meant that production was shut down. It has since been revived in various forms: some scenes were used in 1983’s anniversary special The Five Doctors; a 1992 VHS release had Tom Baker narrating missing scenes; and a ‘webcast’ adaptation (an audio recording with very crude animation) with Paul McGann taking Baker’s role was created in 2003, and is still available on the BBC website. Adams himself would reuse a lot of material from the abandoned story in his novel Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency.

According to a BBC news article written by Shaun Ley, historian Professor Jean Seaton believes that Shada became a line in the sand in the fight between management and unions. Is that true or not? Hopefully this programme will help us decide.

Saturday Play: The Middle
Radio 4, Saturday 2.30pm
I’m really beginning to love Amelia Bullmore as a radio writer. Her recent crime drama series Craven, which went out in the Woman’s Hour slot and starred Maxine Peake, was totally absorbing. Here, she turns her attentions to the family. Emma Cunniffe and Ben Miles are Clare and Martin, a newly married couple. Martin gets on like a house on fire with the rest of Clare’s family - but when he makes a mistake, the whole family is quickly brought to its knees…

Elaine Paige on Sunday
Radio 2, Sunday 1pm
This week’s guest is stage actress and dancer Donna McKechnie.

Giles Wemmbley Hogg Goes Off
Radio 4, Monday 11.30am
Marcus Brigstocke’s inept backpacker Giles Wemmbley Hogg (“Two Ms, Two Gs”) has launched a travel company (Wembbley Hogg Travvel - two Ms, two Gs, two Vs). Things are pretty much guaranteed to go wrong, aren’t they? Great fun as ever.

Harry Worth: The Man in the Window
Radio 4, Tuesday 11.30am
He was one of the most respected TV comedians in the 1960s, but while his peers such as Tony Hancock remain revered, Harry Worth has been more or less forgotten. Hopefully this documentary will go some way to repairing that.

Hard Times: The Short, Sad Life of Stephen Foster
Radio 2, Tuesday 11.30pm
Michael Feinstein presents the first of a two-part tribute to 19th century American songwriter Stephen Foster (1826-64), best known for Oh! Susanna, which became an anthem amongst the California gold rush prospectors.

Afternoon Play: Guilty Until Proved Innocent
Radio 4, Wednesday 2.15pm
Shaken Baby Syndrome has been associated with several high profile miscarriages of justice. Deborah Davis’s play deals with fictional couple Dina and Jake (Maxine Peake and Dan Stevens) who are accused of SBS when their baby falls out of her cot. As their case progresses through the legal system, their progress seems more and more Kafkaesque.

Wake Up To Wogan
Radio 2, Friday 7.30pm
The end of an era, as Sir Terry hands back the keys to the Radio 2 DJ booth ready for Chris Evans to take over in the New Year. First presenting the show in 1972 (although he took a ten-year break), he’s become a figurehead for Radio 2. He’s not going completely, though: come February, he’ll be presenting a Sunday daytime show live from the BBC Radio Theatre in Broadcasting House.

Count Arthur Strong’s Radio Show!
Radio 4, Friday 11.30am
The legendary Count Arthur Strong (Steve Delaney) is off for a cruise… a booze cruise to Calais, to partake in the local “hyperactive supermarket”. Yes, that’s right. Count Arthur Strong and booze. It’s all going to go horribly, hilariously wrong.

One of the problems we Saturday night light entertainment telly lovers have always had is that nightmarish period where Strictly Come Dancing hasn’t quite finished, but The X Factor is about to start. I know that there’s iPlayer, Sky+ and what have you, but there’s always the thrill of watching a programme live.

That’s about to become a lot harder, as this week’s X Factor final (Go Joe!) clashes with the Strictly semi-final, which this year, as in previous years, sees the three remaining couples dancing the dramatic and emotional Argentine Tango.

If you missed last week’s Strictly Come Dancing results show, you won’t have seen the show’s resident experts, Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace, give two demonstrations of the form. One, in which they showed off some of the form’s classic moves in a dramatic rooftop dance, is only available as part of the whole show on iPlayer (for the next few days only for the rest of December). The second, one of their best studio performances I’ve yet seen, lives on thanks to the BBC’s YouTube channel:

Later today, head over to The Stage Podcast where you can hear me interview Kele Baker, the Argentine Tango specialist who helps choreograph and train the celebrities and the professionals as they prepare for Saturday’s show. I’ll add the link here once it’s available…

• Listen to the podcast on iTunes (recommended): http://bit.ly/stagepodcast
• Listen to an MP3 version, buy the book & more on the Stage Podcast blog

Like most of us, I am a creature of habit. I like ritual, a certain amount of repetition that anchors me to a place and time, making me feel safe and secure. And even now, in the lickety split world of the Internet, there’s nothing quite like the arrival of the reassuringly hefty Christmas Radio Times to signal the start of the festive season proper.

We are told the magazine industry is in peril in a snowstorm of closures and declining sales, which is both troubling (I’m a writer, after all) and very sad. I’d like to think the human need for tactile interaction to be the saving grace of the publishing industry. That need to flick pages, to run a finger down a column of text, to interact with written words on something that isn’t a bright computer screen.

Today is apparently the day when online retailers are expecting record levels of purchases as customers use last month’s wages to buy Christmas presents for their nearest and dearest, or just for themselves.

If you’re stuck for DVD ideas, the last couple of podcasts from Radio Times writer William Gallagher’s UK DVD Review should help you. Every Christmas, he puts together two Top 10s of the year: one of his own choices, and one compiled from submissions by his listeners. This year, he’s timed both so that, if you feel inspired from listening to either chart, there’s still time to order your own copy in time for you to buy as a Christmas gift for someone else, or for you to drop heavy hints for presents for yourself.

Both episodes are currently available from the podcast page of his website, and are available as MP3 downlaods:

• 2009 Review part 1 (William’s top 10) (40 minutes)
• 2009 Review part 2 (Listeners’ top 10) (1 hour)

If you haven’t heard the UK DVD Review before, it’s a highly personal round-up of the TV programmes and films available to UK consumers. Usually that means DVD (or, increasingly often these days, Blu-Ray) but also extends to the iTunes store, which now has a huge array of films and TV shows to buy, and occasionally touches on DVDs that are only available on Region 1 imports from the US (in which case, always check that your own DVD player is capable of playing them before ordering).

Last year, I was a guest on the listener show to talk about Dr Horrible’s Singalong Blog. This year, I was invited on again to talk about my choice for this year, Coraline.

A full rundown of the listener top 10 after the jump — but before we get down to business, don’t forget to subscribe to the UK DVD Review in iTunes for more recommendations throughout 2010.

So read on for the UK DVD Review listener top 10, and my comments about each. Has there been a release — on Region 2 DVD or in iTunes — in 2009 that you think should have been on the list? Let us know in the comments!

Miranda BBC2, Monday 8.30pm
One of the best things about Miranda Hart’s sitcom is her old schoolfriend Tilly, played by the inestimable Sally Phillips. This week, she tries to fix up her old mate mate “Kongers” with a blind date, “Dreamboat Charlie” (Adrain Scarborough). When that doesn’t work, she has to suffer the indignity of her mother setting her up. At a Pride and Prejudice-themed party…

Mouth to Mouth: Rakim BBC3, Monday 9pm
Mouth to Mouth: Faith BBC3, Monday 9.30pm
This superb series of comedy monologues concludes with the characters who started out as the butt of the joke and the mysterious name on the mobile respectively, but have gradually grown into the centre of Karl Minns’ intricately plotted love hexagon. The understated nature of this comedy is so different to BBC3’s normal output that it seems to have gone under most people’s radar: thankfully, the previous episodes with Meeshell, Tyler, Luke and Devine are still available on iPlayer for another 7 days. Thanks to the overlapping nature of each storyline, you can almost start watching with any episode — but do catch all six.

Bennett on Bennett BBC4, Monday 10pm
This series of ten-minute monologues by Alan Bennett, on the subject of his own life, started yesterday, and continues throughout the week until Thursday. Each is followed by an episode of the classic Talking Heads series (which are not available on iPlayer).

Robson Green’s Wild Swimming Adventure ITV1, Tuesday 9pm
I’ll have to admit, seeing Robson Green stripped down to either trunks or a wetsuit doesn’t do much for me. But in terms of emotion, this tale of his attempt to swim from Northumberland to Holy Island is the sort of documentary that’s as much about the emotional journey as it is the physical and geographical — and there are few actors who can take you with them in such a gripping way.

Paradox BBC1, Tuesday 9pm
“Dear the past. We have foreseen a future where BBC1 drama commissions a drama containing the sort of time-changing premise that US shows such as FlashForward and Lost have done successfully. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to stop such a show being commissioned. And if you can’t do that, muck about with the scripts so much that they become so silly that nobody wastes their time watching it. Lots of love, the future.”

Russell Brand: Skinned Channel 4, Tuesday 10pm
After a certain pre-recorded Radio 2 programme generated a record amount of complaints after being eviscerated by the Daily Mail, Russell Brand jumped before he could be pushed and has been fairly quiet on British television screens since. This hour-long programme could spell the start of his rehabilitation, mixing elements of his live stand-up routine with some behind-the-scenes footage and, more importantly, a revealing interview with Frank Skinner.

Spooks BBC1, Wednesday 9pm
Of all of last year’s series of Spooks, which focussed on a threat from the Russians, it was the episode set on a bank trading floor that I was least looking forward to — and ended up must enjoying. Here’s hoping that tonight’s, which sees the team fighting to retrieve over a billion pounds from a dodgy bank, pulls off the same trick.

Gavin & Stacey BBC1, Thursday 9pm
Oh. Smithy. What’s occurring? He’s got a text from Nessa after they ended up in bed together (again) at the end of the previous episode, and it’s freaking him out. And that threatens the big lads’ get-together that Gavin is organising in Barry for all of his Essex mates. As with previous series, James Corden and Ruth Jones give the most interesting storyline to their own characters, but it’s all part of a tremendous whole that will be a real wrench when it leaves our screens for good on New Year’s Day.

Wonderland: Alzheimer’s the Musical BBC1, Thursday 9.50pm
Hilda has lost the ability to recognise even those closest to her, including Ted, her loving husband of fifty years. But one thing she can still remember is the tune to Doris Day’s Que Sera, Sera. This documentary follows the Bristol branch of Singing for the Brain, which enables people with Alzheimer’s and their spouses to reconnect, however briefly, through the medium of song.

I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! The Final (Friday 8.30pm, ITV1)

If you can really be bothered (assuming you don’t have a library book to take back or something more interesting to do) then you can see whichever of the barrel scraped “celebs” has lasted the course to be crowned King or Queen of the Jungle. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll get charged a late fee if I don’t get this book back to the library.

Beautiful People (Friday 10.00pm, BBC2)

I fear that the second series of this charming comedy has been overlooked somewhat, which is a shame as it’s so good. This week there’s a holiday in the offing for Simon’s family, but as always, it never quite seems to work out. When guff like Big Top gets commissioned, we can be thankful there’s still room on TV for quality fare like this.

The History Boys (Friday 11.35pm, BBC2)

Perhaps lacking the vibrancy that characterised the stage version, Nicholas Hytner’s take on the Alan Bennett play he directed at the National is still hugely enjoyable in its cinematic form. The tale of a group of Yorkshire schoolboys being prepared for their Oxbridge entrance exam is blessed of a wonderful script (as you’d expect from Bennett) and engaging performances from the original stage cast, including Richard Griffiths. Good stuff.

Strictly Come Dancing (Saturday 6.40pm, BBC1/BBCHD)

Bette Midler will perform on the results show at 9.40pm, but first up, the main Strictly show sees some changes, as Darcey Bussell is welcomed onto the judging panel for the last few weeks. Not quite sure why this is happening, but it should mix things up a bit as we hit the final stages of the competition. As for who’s going to win, it might be too early to call even now, but I’m looking at Chris Hollins as a cheeky outside bet.

Being Alan Bennett (Saturday 9.30pm, BBC2)

As you’d expect, any hour spent in the company of Alan Bennett is a delight from start to finish. This profile of the writer forms part of BBC2 and BBC4’s Bennett season (which sees a repeat of all the Talking Heads monologues) and is one of this weekend’s must-see programmes.

The Thick of It (Saturday 10.30pm, BBC2)

Malcolm Tucker is confronted by his bete noir tonight, the oft-mentioned, never seen Steve Fleming, favoured spinner of the PM. It’s likely to be an explosive encounter, and with David Haig playing Fleming, we can expect some truly spectacular fireworks when he and Malcolm get to it. Elsewhere, Nicola has a new healthy eating campaign underway, which brings problems of its own.

Small Island (Sunday 9.00pm, BBC1/BBC HD)

Highly effective adaptation of Andrea Levy’s novel chronicling the social change taking place in Britain in the 1940s as the first Caribbean immigrants arrived in the country. Naomi Harris is teacher Hortense, unable to find work in her chosen profession on in Britain, while her husband Gilbert (David Oyelowo) is forced to take menial jobs. Their lives entwine with a variety of other characters to form a brilliantly told, sometimes shocking narrative. Part Two is next Sunday.

The Saturday Play: Dover Beats the Band
Radio 4, Saturday 2.30pm
A mild-mannered stamp collector has been killed in a 1970s holiday camp, and Scotland Yard’s laziest detective is on the case. But as he investigates, even Inspector Dover becomes determined to catch the killer. Kenneth Cranham stars in a repeat of a drama first broadcast in 2007.

Elaine Paige on Sunday
Radio 2, Sunday 1pm
Studio guest is Debbie Allen — best known to a generation as Fame’s Lydia Grant, and now a dance teacher, choreographer and theatre director, her production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof having transferred to the West End to rave reviews.

Afternoon Play: Zero Degrees of Separation
RAdio 4, Monday 2.15pm Three short plays written and performed by community writing groups: The Bank Van by writers from the An Tobar Arts Centre, Isle of Mull; Crosswords by the Ballycastle Writers Group, Antrim; and Shame on You from the Original Writers Group, Battersea.

Big Toe Books
Radio 7, Monday-Friday 4pm
A BBC children’s programme that continues the BBC’s long tradition of encouraging storytelling, this week features short stories based inspired by the articles of the International Declaration of Human Rights, as a way of marking International Human Rights Day on Thursday.

Monty Python’s Wonderful World of Sound
Radio 2, Tuesday 10.30pm
Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding, otherwise known as the Mighty Boosh, present a two-week exploration of the Monty Python team’s comedy LPs — which, predating as they did the home video market, were often the only way that fans could experience sketches and songs that would otherwise have disappeared from memory.

Afternoon Play: Winter Storm
Radio 4, Tuesday 2.15pm
John Gordon Sinclair stars as a Scottish poet who has taken up a post in a university in the Midwestern US. When he becomes engulfed in a severe blizzard, he muses on the events that led him to be stranded so far from home. A play that concentrates on the sound and meaning of words, it’s the kind of production that can only work on radio.

Andy Zaltzman’s History of the Third Millennium. Series 1 of 100
Radio 4, Thursday 6.30pm
A four part series by comedian Zaltzman (with a little help from Rory Bremner, Bridget Christie, Lucy Montgomery and Kim Wall) examining the first 10 years of the millennium. The title is itself a joke, punning on Radio 4’s predeliction for ultralong series (e.g., This Sceptered Isle). At least, I hope it’s a joke…

Friday Play: Then We Came to the End
Set in the 1990s, this tale of advertising executives being laid off due to an advertising recession is depressingly topical. A dysfunctional company of misfits in an advertising agency try to avoid confronting their fears about redundancy by drinking coffee, taking long lunches, sniping about each other by email and stealing each other’s medication. Rumours that this play is based on The Stage offices are completely unfounded…

With only three weeks to go, the channels are now beginning to promote their festive schedules with the trasitional compilation clip trailers. Below are the BBC1 comedy and drama efforts. If you care about such things, it’s possibly worth pointing out that both may contain spoilers for certain shows…

Comedy

Drama

And as a final bonus, a glimpse of the new Doctor Who-themed BBC1 Christmas ident, courtesy of the Blogtor Who blog:

Greatly saddened here at TV Today by yesterday’s news of the passing away of Coronation Street actress Maggie Jones, who played the legendary Blanche Hunt on and off from 1974.

Jones, who was 75 at her death, had an extensive career on British television, playing supporting roles in a variety of British dramas and comedies, including The Forsyte Saga, Z Cars and Dalziel and Pascoe, with a first appearance on television in Coronation Street as a police officer in 1964. But it was as Deirdre Barlow’s acid-tongued mother, Blanche, that would assure her place in the soap Hall of Fame.

Jones took on the role of Blanche at short notice in 1974 following the suicide of actress Patricia Cutts who had played the role for just two episodes. She would have stints in the show at various points throughout the late 1970s, making a reappearance in 1996. In 1999 the actress would take permanent residence on the Street, becoming a cause of constant frustration for Deirdre, and a thorn in Ken’s side.

Poor Spooks. Our commenters have been airing their differences of opinion over Mark’s disappointment with Series 8. Personally, it feels as if this series is suffering some severe budget cuts — not only can they not seem to afford any actors capable of doing believable American accents, the Grid itself seems to now consist of a couple of desks.

They also seem to have saved money by not hiring a proofreader for its on screen captions. Hence this howler from last night’s episode (still available on iPlayer):

“Terroism”? Maybe we should rename the series Spoks. Or Pooks.

Or maybe just Poo.

It’s impossible not to love Bernard Cribbins. The 80-year-old actor has one of those voices that formed such a vital part of many childhoods, whether enjoying novelty records such as Right Said Fred, as the voice of the Wombles, fighting Robomen in Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150AD or being one of the most prolific presenters on Jackanory. More recently, of course, he played Donna’s grandfather Wilf in Doctor Who, providing both the funniest and the most heartbreaking scenes in series four’s final episodes.

But it’s the Jackanory part of his CV that has seen him in the newspaper headlines this week. He received the Outstanding Creative Contribution award as part of the Children’s BAFTA Awards, and used the occasion to answer queries on the ‘new’ Jackanory:

I do wish that it could be brought back in the form that it used to be, with someone sitting one-to-one with a camera. It’s like you are talking to your children at bedtime, they look at you and they don’t see anything else - they don’t see flashing lights and CGI and all the rest of it.

A little bit of a fuss then (and a frankly brilliant Pass Notes from the Guardian, presented mostly in rhyme).

There’s only one problem: it’s a bogus complaint. Storytelling is alive and well on the BBC’s children’s channels.

Today’s announcement that the BAFTA TV Awards are creating two new acting categories is welcome indeed, but oddly timed.

From the 2010 awards, drama acting will be recognised with supporting actor and actress categories as well as the existing lead actor and actress awards. Given that in every production there are always far more people on screen than can ever be eligible for the main awards, creating a way of acknowledging supporting roles is a long overdue change.

That said, I can’t help but wonder at the irony that the increased recognition comes at a time when drama — one of the most expensive categories of television entertainment — is coming under pressure from all sides. While Channel 4 recently committed to boost its drama budget by £20m, that money won’t be available until 2011 — and, to be honest, with the state of the broadcaster’s overall finances being best described as ‘uncertain’, pledges of budget increases fall squarely into the ‘believe it when I see it’ pigeonhole.

Still, every effort to increase the profile of acting for television is worthwhile in my book. As is the news that the Comedy Performance category is being split into two categories, even though in previous years the shortlist for the single category hasn’t always been as strong as it could have been.

The other interesting side to the announcement is that the awards ceremony itself is being moved back to June. On the one hand, that means that there’s a better chance of sunshine for the red carpet arrivals (although this year’s event took place during a painfully hot heatwave). More importantly, though, it means that the glitzy ceremony will follow, rather than precede, the more relaxed (and frankly more interesting) BAFTA Craft awards in May.

Just back from a little pre-Christmas jaunt to sunnier climes and have been catching up on some missed television. Two episodes of the always-sublime The Thick of It (the Richard Bacon episode was about as joyous as it gets), an episode of Miranda (heartening to see deservedly healthy ratings), and an assault on the stack of In Treatment I need to catch up with.

And of course, there was an episode of Spooks, something that for eight seasons I have always relished. Until now.

I’ve had an uncomfortable feeling about this new series. It started off well, the opening couple of episodes being fairly tight and tense. And hurrah! The return of Nicola Walker as the divine Ruth Evershed, long missed from this perennial of dramas.

And then it all went a bit wrong. Episode 3 started it off - it was fairly mundane, slack stuff by Spooks standards. And no amount of bad writing can be covered by the death of yet another Spooks regular, especially so soon after the shock death of Ben at the hands of Connie last series. Now that was genuinely unexpected and brilliantly played, but Jo’s death was a waste of a long serving character’s exit. Killing off regulars in Spooks has officially become hackneyed.

I saw Paranormal Activity at the cinema this weekend. For those who haven’t yet seen it, or heard about it from the large amounts of online buzz around it, it’s a supernatural film shot on a single video camera (a la The Blair Witch Project).

With all the best horror films, it’s the slowly creeping sense of dread that can turn a good movie into a great one. For me, Paranormal Activity doesn’t quite have that — while there are some genuinely creepy moments in the film, the scenes in between are more about tedium than tension.

What really killed the film for me, though, was the thought that I’d seen the whole concept — a family home tormented by ghosts or demons — done so much better. By the BBC, in fact, in 1992’s Ghostwatch.