February 2011 Archives

One of the great aspects about the BBC’s iPlayer for television is that many of their series are offered in ‘stacked’ form — each episode remaining online while the series is ongoing, rather than disappearing seven days after transmission on linear television.

I’ve found it invaluable in cases where I’ve not been able to predict my viewing habits far enough in advance to remember to set my PVR. Without it, the chances of me watching a series or serial to completion diminish if I miss the odd episode, or if I miss the first one completely and need to catch up.

As someone who also revels in the delights of Radio 4’s drama and comedy output, it’s been a frustration that the same convenience isn’t available for radio.

Until now. The BBC Trust has now approved series stacking for speech radio programmes, which will include dramas and comedies as well as documentaries.

Up to 15% of the BBC’s speech output can be stacked, which should mean ample opportunities to catch up on Classic Serials, Saturday Plays and the like.

Of course, some series are already available as podcasts - e.g., The Archers and Radio 7’s original commission, Planet B. Once downloaded, there’s no limit to how long you can keep those. Until now, though, there was no real gap between “for 7 days” and “forever” when it came to catching up with programmes.

Additional means of catching up may present themselves when Radio 7 rebrands as Radio 4 Extra — it’s possible that key programmes may end up with a catch-up rebroadcast on Radio 7. But series stacking — together with the announced plans to rework how on-demand audio and podcasts are packaged on the BBC website — should make it as easy as possible to sample some of the best radio shows without fear of missing an episode.

Saturday Play: Classic Chandler - Playback Radio 4, Saturday 2.30pm

While I’ve quite liked Toby Stephens’ take on grizzled San Francisco ‘tec Philip Marlowe, but to be honest would have preferred all four of Chandler’s novels spaced out rather than run together like this. Still, the final story in the season contains all the key ingredients - especially the mysterious woman and a client with undisclosed, and possibly shady, motives…

Classic Serial: Show Boat Radio 4, Sunday 3pm
The conclusion to the adaptation of Edna Ferber’s novel that was later adapted into a musical by Jerome Kern and OScar Hammerstein II (part 1 is repeated on Saturday at 9pm).

Drama on 3: Helen Radio 3, Sunday 8pm
Don Taylor’s unique take on Euripedes’ story of Helen of Troy gives the tale a twist, by suggesting that Paris did not, in fact, abduct Menelaus’s wife at all. A war conducted in the Middle East under false pretences? What on earth could have given Taylor the inspiration for that idea?

The Chronicles of Ait - Echo Beach Radio 4, Monday-Friday 10.45am & 7.45pm
Greg Wise and Indira Varma star in a tale of a disaffected writer who meets a mysterious woman while on a retreat. Part romance, part psychological thriller, part supernatural adventure — right up my street.

Front Row Radio 4, Monday 7.15pm
Mark Lawson interviews Michael Crawford on the eve of the press night for The Wizard of Oz.

David Jacobs: On the Record Radio 2, Wednesday 10pm
One of British broadcasting’s most enduring legends, actor and broadcaster David Jacob is interviewed by former R2 controller Jim Moir about a career that is in its 67th year. Jacobs, now 84, has presented Housewives’ Choice, Jazz Club, Pick of the Pops, Melodies for You and Any Questions - and in the drama serial Journey Into Space he played no less than 22 characters.

Afternoon Play: Good with People Radio 4, Friday 2.15pm
Maureen Beattie, Paul Chequer and Sean Biggerstaff star in David Harrower’s tale of a small Scottish town, which has turned from being a thriving seaside resort to the host of a nuclear submarine base.

Friday Night Dinner Channel 4, Friday 10pm

This new sitcom, written and produced by Robert Popper and directed by Steve Bendleack, is an odd beast. Tamsin Greig and Paul Ritter play the Jewish parents whose adult sons, played by Tom Rosenthal and The Inbetweeners’ Simon Bird, revert to their childish rivalries when they come home every Friday for the traditional family dinner. And Mark Heap does the eccentric neighbour in a typically Mark Heapish way.

Comparisons will obviously be drawn between this and Simon Amstell’s Grandma’s House, but while the regular family occasions and Jewish heritage is common to both series, both Amstell and Popper have drawn upon their own experiences to put clear water between to the two. To be honest, I prefer Grandma’s House’s style of comedy and pacing. Here, the lines are delivered in a broader fashion, almost in the style of a studio sitcom. That fits in with Bird’s style, which worked in the In Betweeners but feels a little out of place in this setting.

He’s certainly my least favourite of the regulars, my favourite being the inimitable Tamsin Greig (here, given a very odd makeover which really doesn’t suit her). Ritter and Rosenthal are actors I hadn’t been aware of before, but both are excellent. I just wish it was played a little less broadly…

The Killing BBC4, Saturday 9pm & 10pm

If you’ve not been watching this Danish crime thriller (known as Forbrydelsen in its home country), get on iPlayer now. This superb series hits the halfway mark, with Lund and Meyer’s investigations leading in the direction of the Liberal Party. A US remake is in the works by cable channel AMC (the broadcaster behind Mad Men) — and so watch the original in order to pronounce how the American version is inferior with complete authority…

Got to Dance Sky 1, Sunday 6pm

I’ve never been able to get into this dance show, despite loving the concept and its championing of the form. But it’s the grand final this weekend, so if you’ve never seen an episode here’s a chance to see the best that the series has to offer competing for the £250,000 grand prize.

The older you get, it seems, the more often you must brace for news that beloved actors from your childhood have passed away.

I was too young — just — for Nicholas Courtney’s regular appearances in Doctor Who to be a regular part of my Saturday evening viewing. By the time I was old enough to be watching the series, UNIT had gone from being a regular part of the show’s format to part of an already long-running series’ history, only resurfacing in the 1980s once the series started tapping into its own backstory with regularity.

I was, of course, an avid consumer of everything to do with the series back then, so my first memories of the Brigadier came through Target novelisations of the old stories. Even then, whoever wrote the books based on those old TV scripts couldn’t help but portray the Brigadier with the sharpness and clarity that Courtney had brought to the role.

As old stories began to emerge on VHS, and as Courtney himself resurrected the role of the Brigadier, first in guest spots in the TV series and later on DVD, the presence of the man became burned indelibly on my impressions of what Doctor Who is.

I was never part of the convention circuit, or the circles of fans that have since gone on to write for and/or about the show for a living. I have many friends who were, though, and every single one of them is mourning a friend while we mourn an actor.

And that is only his Doctor Who life. His service to the actors’ union, Equity, was long and dedicated, and his theatre, television, film and radio work outside Doctor Who was often overlooked.

The Stage will be publishing a full obituary in due course, but in the meantime I can suggest no better than to watch a rather touching short video obituary prepared by Ed Stradling:

Farewell, Nicholas. As Mark Gatiss so effectively said (paraphrasing what became something of a catchphrase for The Brig), “Splendid chap. All of him.”

Glee E4, Monday 9pm
If you’ve been worrying that the second season of the school-set musical has been concentrating too much on Kurt of late, you’ll want to look away now, for his bullying at the hands of football lunk Korofsky is front and centre again this week. But Kurt’s visit to a exclusive private school — as part of a spying trip on one of New Directions’ rivals — shows him that there are schools where a zero-tolerance policy on bullying allows gay students to be out without fear.

Ken & Deirdre’s Bedtime Stories itv.com/corrie, from tonight
Playwright and Coronation Street scribe Jonathan Harvey has penned a series of ten 3-minute comedy dramas starring Ken & Deirdre Barlow as they turn in for the night. The first part goes online this evening, with new episodes every Monday.

How TV Ruined Your Life BBC2, Tuesday 10pm
Charlie Brooker’s combination of real archive footage with well-crafted spoofs of the same is entertaining, if never quite delivering the killer punches that made his BBC4 shows Screenwipe and Newswipe unmissable. This week, he looks at how television has distorted love and romance.

The Grammy Awards ITV2, Wednesday 10pm
After Tuesday’s BRIT Awards, ITV2 follows it up with this weekend’s far bigger, far glitzier Grammy Awards from the USA. Al ot of coverage was given to Lady Gaga arriving in an egg, of all things, but my favourite moment has to be Cee Lo Green, dressed as a 1970s-era Elton John, performing Forget You with Gwyneth Paltrow (who performs the song in the episode of Glee due to air next week) and The Muppets. Sheer genius.

Skins E4, Thursday 10pm
I’m still undecided about the E4 teen drama’s latest cast change, but hopefully this will be the episode to help me make up my mind. Liv (Laya Lewis) is struggling to hold it together with a family that seems to have long since given up - her sister is in prison, her father is not around and her mum is hooked on crystal meth. In short, the type of famliy that Skins dees best.

One of the more bizarre aspects of American Football’s Superbowl is that the commercial spots tend to be just as eagerly anticipated as the game itself or even the half-time entertainment. These days, YouTube has a whole microsite devoted to Superbowl ads. This year’s Superbowl had some of the cast members of Glee promoting Chevrolet cars (including some back references to the Season 1 episode, Mattress). The 2-minute song and dance number was so eagerly anticipated that it even got its own teaser (the video below will show the promo, then the full ad):

Here in the UK, the commercial channels don’t really have any annual events that could pull in the same sort of advertising cachet. But tomorrow’s BRIT Awards (ITV1, 8pm) may be trying. It’s telling that a couple of ad spots are already available online.

Mastermind BBC2, Friday 8pm
One of the specialist subjects tonight includes The Avengers, one of British television’s most distinctive series.

Casualty BBC1, Saturday 8.50pm
Poor Ruth’s mental health problems, which have bubbled away ever since she joined the ED back in 2007, last week saw her being dragged out of the department. This week, the drama concentrates on her therapy sessions within the specialist unit into which she’s been sectioned. Watch for a superb performance by Matthew Kelly (shortly to return to the West End stage) as her psychiatrist.

Baker Boys BBC1 Wales, Sunday 9pm
I’ve had more feedback to my piece about Baker Boys than anything I’ve written recently. It seems that everyone who’s seen it, either on BBC1 Wales or iPlayer, has warmed to this story about a group of redundant workers taking over their previous employer. It’s the final part tonight, so catch up on iPlayer first, then catch the conclusion as Valley Bara Bakery reopens for business (Sky 972, Freesat 964). And pray for a national repeat and a longer series commission for this superb slice of drama.

Hawaii Five-O Sky1, Sunday from 9pm
The vogue for re-imagining fondly remembered series from decades gone by contonues with this slick, fun reboot for the classic Hawaii-set cop show. Alex O-Loughlin is Garrett, brought back to Honolulu to investigate his father’s murder. Grace Park (Battlestar Galactica), Daniel Dae Kim (Lost) and Scott Caan also star.

The Promise Channel 4, Sunday 9pm
Peter Kosminsky (Britz, The Government Inspector) writes and directs this four-part series set across several decades of the Israel/Palestine conflict. Claire Foy stars as Erin, a gap year student staying with a British Israeli friend, who begins exploring the past of her dying grandfather. His diary gives her glimpses of how, as a young soldier in 1940s Palestine (Christian Cooke), he was part of the British peace-keeping force. Knowing Kosminsky’s propensity to make politically provocative programmes, this is doubtless going to cause controversy, and promises to be an unmissable piece of drama.

I’ve just finished watching the second episode of a new BBC drama entitled Baker Boys. Starring a whole host of familiar faces — headed by Eve Myles (Torchwood, Belonging), Mark Lewis Jones (This Life, Being Human) and Steven Meo (Grownups, Belonging) — the series documents the lives of a small Welsh town when the sole industrial employer, a large scale bakery, is closed after its parent company goes into administration.

With lives in such upheaval, the first couple of episodes follow the ex-workers as they conceive, and then struggle to finance, the idea of a co-operative buyout of the bakery.

Helen Raynor and Gary Owen’s scripts place the action firmly within contemporary, recessionary Britain. And with a strong Welsh cast and a soundtrack that includes many Welsh language songs, there’s a definite sense of place as well. That said, the story is certainly not unique to Wales, and the sense of whole communities being devastated by the loss of one business is one that has been played out across the country.

It’s a shame, really, that its broadcast is confined to BBC1 Wales, as this three-part drama is certainly strong enough to deserve a network-wide transmission. As it is, for those of us not lucky enough to live in Wales, the first two episodes are currently available on iPlayer. The final episode will also be available via the BBC website. Sky and Freesat users can also view BBC1 Wales (it’s transmitted on channel 972 on Sky and channel 964 on Freesat) to see the final episode go out at 9pm on Sunday.

One can only hope that a network repeat is forthcoming shortly. Because, and I can’t quite believe that I’ve managed to hold off using this pun for quite so long, the whole country deserves to see the fabulous Baker Boys.

Today, satellite broadcaster BSkyB launches its new channel, Sky Atlantic. The channel is now the home of US channel HBO’s catalogue of drama and comedy content, which Sky bought exclusive rights to last year. Sky also acquired Mad Men from HBO competitor AMC, robbing BBC4 of one of its most talked about programmes, and will be showing other US imports.

After a one-hour preview at 8pm (which will also air on Sky1 and Sky Living), the channel launches properly at 9pm with the first, feature-length episode of Boardwalk Empire. Set in Prohibition-era Atlantic City, the Golden Globe-winning series is executive produced by Martin Scorsese (who also directs this first episode) and stars Steve Buscemi and Kelly Macdonald.

Immediately following Boardwalk Empire, the pilot of CBS drama Blue Bloods stars Tom Selleck as a police commissioner whose family all work in law enforcement.

Out of peak, the channel will be showing repeats of some old favourites from across the pond, such as The X Files, 24 and Star Trek: Voyager, but it’s the primetime content which most people will be watching. Forthcoming series The Borgias and Mildred Pierce will appear alongside HBO classics including The Sopranos, as well as Mad Men, which Sky poached from the BBC, where it was a much talked about (but less watched) import on BBC4.

But it’s not all American content: as my colleague Matthew Hemley reported last month, a number of original UK commissions will premiere on the channel, including Paul Abbott’s Hit and Miss and comedy series This is Jinsy (which originally piloted on BBC3, but was never given a series commission by the Corporation).

Sky Atlantic’s director of programmes, Stuart Murphy, told Matthew that he intends to commission UK pieces that gives creators the opportunity to pen pieces they would not necessarily feel able to for other channels, adding:

Because the dramas we commission need to sit next to things like Game of Thrones, which had a $25 million pilot, you have got to commission to a quality level, which blows everyone else out of the water and which is why we can’t do that many.

In an industry where funding drama and comedy is ever under threat, any promise of new outlets for original, high quality content has got to be welcome.

• What, if anything, appeals to you about the Sky Atlantic line-up? Leave your comments below!