Lost in the Ashes of Torchwood

The general mood surrounding telefantasy fans has been a little down of late. Read more

Cooking doesn’t get tougher than this!

Inevitably, I’m obsessed with Masterchef. So, I was excited to get details of how the final week is going to stack up. Read on (and worry not, there are no spoilers regarding who gets through)… Read more

Quintessential inhabitants

I like QI. I’ve watched every episode many times over. I frequent the official forums. I have had correspondence from John Lloyd. And I even got the play-at-home game on DVD at Christmas 2006, though I’ve only looked at it once. Read more

That happy day

The Extras Christmas special (most probably the last ever episode of the series) is on BBC1 Thursday, December 27. Read more

Heroes

It’s been a while since I’ve been this apprehensive about the broadcast of the finale to a US import – and it’s been a while since a series has been trailed by this much critical acclaim from professionals and bloggers, professional bloggers and people with access to broadband saying in unison, “Great series, shame about the ending”. Read more

“I’ll just wank off Ianto”

Those words spoken, of course, by John Barrowman at this morning’s press launch for series two of Torchwood (TX-ing from mid January on BBC2). This was as he sat down next to Gareth David-Lloyd in the screening room. The first actual words spoken in the second series, though? Oh, go on then – “‘Scuse me, have you seen a blowfish driving a sports car?” Read more

Lead Balloon

History does repeat itself. It’s not that long ago I was going around raving to people about the US version of The Office. I remember reiterating that, if they could just forget about the UK version and avoid spending the whole time imagining Gervais and co delivering the lines, then they’d soon come to see what a great show it is. Read more

Dragons done

Having summarily dismissed all property shows from my viewing schedule last year, I am fearful that I’m now growing tired of Dragons’ Den. It’s not just that during this week’s episode I was able to correctly predict when Evan’s “In a bizarre twist” voice-over was about to commence, but I found it difficult to get at all interested in any of the pitches. Each one seemed to go on too long, and the concepts the visitors to the Den were proposing just weren’t very inventive. In fact, by half way through I’d started reading the latest issue of Radio Times instead. Read more

Grandad’s Back in Business

So what counts the most – youthful exuberance or aged experience? Read more

The Restaurant

Gripping reality television is all about hubris. That’s not a startling observation, but it is one that feels particularly appropriate when watching the aspirational brand. Read more

Just for one day

And, yes, they did play ‘Heroes’ by David Bowie. That was last night’s BBC-we’re-doing-it-just-because-we-can whizzo Heroes press party, held at the very top of the Gherkin in London. Stalking outside, a handful of enthusiasts in “Nathan Petrelli for President” t-shirts. Read more

WIll they go through to boot camp?

As much as I am loving both The Restaurant and Kitchen Criminals, I can’t help but long for the development of a new kind of reality show mechanic. All of this bottom three, boot camp, and pregnant pause before announcing the eviction stuff is old hat, no? Indeed the use of the term “boot camp” in Kitchen Criminals, as if everyone knows what that means in the context of a TV show is something of a commentary on how pervasive and tiring this format has now become. The problem is, if you lose the eviction format, what do you replace it with?

Heroes

It’s been a while since I’ve been this excited about the broadcast of a new US import – but then it’s been a while since a series has been trailed by this much critical acclaim from professionals and bloggers and professional bloggers and people with access to broadband all chanting quietly, “Watch … Watch … Watch…”. Read more

King David

When it comes to panel games, it doesn’t really matter as to the format or the questions – probably about 95% of the appeal is down to the participants. So nobody really cares that 8 out of 10 Cats is about opinion polls – all that matters is that Sean Lock is there being funny. Hence, BBC1′s new panel game Would I Lie to You is likely to prove enjoyable due to the masterstroke of hiring David Mitchell as a team captain. Read more

Corporate reshuffle

Well, I’d made the assumption Peter Jones was “out” when it came to the next series of Dragons’ Den but, as per today’s press release from the Beeb, the self-styled tycoon is still on board.  Read more

Same but different

Is the BBC working against itself or has The Restaurant been renamed? I’ve just spotted this advert on Gumtree, the online classified ad service: Read more

Jonathan Meades: Abroad Again

Lord Reith was a Presbyterian Scot, a Wee Free wallah, among whose folks the most timid involvement in sensual pleasures had you hellbound. Read more

Louis Theroux: The Most Hated Family in America

There’s perhaps been a feeling of late that Louis Theroux has just been treading the same old water for some time with his documentaries on the weirdness of the world. Read more

Running to the restaurant

Every now and then the BBC Jobs website includes details of an upcoming programme. Not too long ago a vacancy for a researcher for The One Show revealed that it would be running 50 weeks a year when it returns. The latest is a position for a “‘Location Runner” on something called… Read more

Whatever Happened to our Dream of Freedom?

You’ll love this, they told me about Adam Curtis’s single-handed and quixotic attempt at reintroducing intellectualism to prime-time TV. This is your idea of telly; big ideas, big themes. Back to the ’70s. Read more

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