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Absolutely Fabulous, BBC OneSunday, 25 December 2011
Joy was unconfined in my house as the J-team reunited for Christmas to give us the greatest gift of the season. Not that baby and his royal visitors in Bethlehem but Jennifer Saunders, who gathered together her old mates Joanna Lumley, Jane Horrocks, June Whitfield and Julia Sawalha for a cracker of a reunion stuffed with gags. Read more...
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Doctor Who Christmas Special: The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe, BBC OneSunday, 25 December 2011
Next time you glance up at the stars, spare a thought for your Christmas tree. It’s probably topped by a star, but some of those in the sky might just be the spirit of the tree itself. By helping free the spirits of the trees in a forest, the Doctor transported the symbols of Christmas into an adventure that only he could have instigated. The combination of Christmas, the World War Two setting, Matt Smith’s vitality and a family uncertain of their future ensured this nostalgic fantasy was an... Read more... |
The Joy of Country, BBC FourSaturday, 24 December 2011
The makers of this short history of country music had done a good job of rounding up interviewees, who included such veterans as Ray Price, Merle Haggard and Charley Pride alongside the offspring of several country legends. We met Shooter Jennings (son of Waylon), Hank Williams III and Georgette Jones (daughter of Tammy Wynette and George Jones). Read more... |
London's Burning, Channel 4Friday, 23 December 2011
What finer way to nudge us gently towards the forthcoming festivities and celebrate the season of goodwill than by creating a lurid reconstruction of the riots that scorched through London last summer. London's Burning was assembled principally from news footage of the events, which you'll recall was copious and shockingly vivid, while interspersing it with dramatic re-enactments of people's real-life experiences in Clapham. Quite what it was trying to tell us I'm not sure. Read more... |
Imagine: The Art of Stand-up, BBC OneTuesday, 20 December 2011
What makes something funny? Why do comics stand on stage in front of strangers and try to make them laugh? Is any subject beyond a joke? What is the purpose of Alan Yentob? Those questions – OK, only the first three – were raised by Imagine's presenter in this, the first of a two-parter about the art of stand-up. Read more... |
Young James Herriot, BBC OneMonday, 19 December 2011
You can see why prequels come into being. A dramatic character becomes a national treasure and eventually, once old age or worse removes them from the small screen, they are opportunistically exhumed by means of the backstory. Young Delboy was brought back to life in Rock and Chips. Young Morse is expected to be solving murders soon. Read more... |
Masterchef: The Professionals, BBC TwoFriday, 16 December 2011
There are all sorts of reality shows, but the best ones really do strip people bare. It’s the reason why The X Factor is more interesting than Strictly Come Dancing, why Don’t Tell the Bride is more revealing of the gamble of love than Snog, Marry, Avoid? It’s the reason why Masterchef: The Professionals is more gripping than the estimable Great British Bake-Off. Read more... |
The Slap, BBC FourFriday, 16 December 2011
While the rest of the country has been busy discussing the knitwear of Denmark’s answer to DCI Jane Tennison, I found myself bereft of anyone to share my unbridled enthusiasm for this Australian adaptation of Christos Tsiolkas’s novel The Slap. Even at the virtual watercooler of Facebook, only one person gave me a thumbs up when I wrote a paragraph on its excellence. Read more... |
Steve Jobs: Billion Dollar Hippy, BBC TwoThursday, 15 December 2011
He would not hesitate to wake up employees at all hours to yak about ideas. He could fire an underling in the seconds it took for the elevator to ferry him to or from his fourth-floor office. He shouted, like, a lot, even at Bill Gates. Especially at Bill Gates. Read more... |
Imagine: Books – the Last Chapter? BBC OneWednesday, 14 December 2011
“Will the app clicker replace the page turner?” asked Alan Yentob’s state-of-play rumination on the book. It’s a cutely phrased question and, as everyone reading this will be familiar with the digital world – this is theartsdesk, after all – a fair one. Will zeroes and ones make the book redundant, a sort of totem, or will it adapt, taking on the new forms presented by the digital world? Read more... |
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