Known for going where even hardened news correspondents would rather not tread, nodding sagely and quietly getting people to reveal more than they ever thought they would, this week Louis Theroux met members of the ultra-nationalist fringe of the Israeli Jewish community who have made their home on … [Read more...]
Human Planet and How TV Ruined Your Life: What We’ve Been Watching
It's taken me a while to get around to mentioning the BBC's latest flagship nature (anthropological?) documentary Human Planet, but it deserves its place in the revered WWBW archives. It's fascinating, beautiful to look at, and the sort of programme that makes you think, ok, mankind can be … [Read more...]
10 O’Clock Live and The British Comedy Awards: What We’ve Been Watching
When UK television has tried to do uber-topical comedy in recent times, the tendency has been towards easy jokes rather than tackling the issues, with a much greater emphasis on the 'comedy' bit than the 'topical' (the well-intentioned but ultimately rubbish Tonightly is a good case in point). So … [Read more...]
Episodes, Michel Roux’s Service and Fast & Loose: What We’ve Been Watching
It's not often that the cream of British comedy combines with the genuine American A-list - at least not on TV, our comics do get the odd Hollywood cameo - so to see Green Wing's Stephen Mangan and Tamsin Grieg on screen with Friends' "Joey" in the new BBC sitcom Episodes was always going to be an … [Read more...]
Famous & Fearless, Derren Brown Night and Penn & Teller: What We’ve Been Watching
When Famous and Fearless - the new show that brought Chris Evans back to live television on Channel 4 - first aired last Sunday, Twitter was abuzz with how slow it was, bemoaning its terrible 'action to filler' ratio. And I completely agreed, and yet somehow I ended up watching right until the … [Read more...]
Eric & Ernie and The Magicians: What We’ve Been Watching
Sometimes, telly gives you something that you suspect was made just for you, and I reckon this was the case with BBC Two's 90-minute biopic, Eric and Ernie. Well, research into demographics is very thorough these days, and I don't exactly hide my televisual preferences under a bushel, so... yes, Big … [Read more...]
Upstairs Downstairs, Doctor Who, The Royle Family: What We’ve Been Watching
I have to admit that I was profoundly underwhelmed by the prospect of Christmas telly this year. The big shows seemed to be The One Ronnie and Lucas and Walliams's new show Come Fly With Me, and that really didn't fill me with excitement. Luckily, as it turns out there have already been one or two … [Read more...]
Dirk Gently and Butterflies – A Very British Obsession: What We’ve Been Watching
It must be with a certain amount of trepidation that any writer, actor or indeed major television corporation approaches the revered work of Douglas Adams, so it's no real surprise that it has taken so long for his novel Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency to come to the small screen. … [Read more...]
Germany Season and BBC One comedy: What We’ve Been Watching
Last week, I waxed lyrical about Andrew Graham-Dixon's wonderful Art of Germany series, but it is in fact just one programme in a whole, to use the proper industry word, "strand" about our European near-neighbours currently running on BBC Four. Y'know, this weekend I have slobbed out in front of The … [Read more...]
The Art of Germany and Frankie Boyle’s Tramadol Nights: What We’ve Been Watching
There are some things that only the BBC would dedicate a series to, aren't there, and God bless it for that. The Art of Germany, for example, is not likely to be found on Channel 5, but is one of those lovingly-made, informative, entertaining programmes that has you searching for phrases other than … [Read more...]
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