In December 2010, back when the What We've Been Watching column was in its toddling infancy, I wrote a word or two about the pilot episode of Dirk Gently, BBC Four's adaptation of the Douglas Adams detective series of the same name. The verdict was a tentative thumbs-up back then -- but how's the … [Read more...]
Glastonbury 2011 and Wimbledon: What We’ve Been Watching
It's a 'blanket coverage' special this week and I'll be honest, this is among my favourite sort of telly. Live event TV, the possibility of pre-watershed sweariness, a cup of tea, and my Twitter stream ticking over - what more could a girl want for? … [Read more...]
Psychoville 2 and more BBC4 musical nostalgia: WWBW
At the moment, comedy on TV is dominated by panel shows, and while the combination of funny people with a decent format is usually a winner, it has to be said that there is something special about a great scripted comedy. And Psychoville is certainly that. The first series was everything I love … [Read more...]
Top of the Pops night and Rhod Gilbert’s Work Experience: What We’ve Been Watching
BBC Four indulged in a real nostalgia-fest last Friday with its Top of the Pops night, consisting of clips, documentaries and even a full episode from 1st April 1976. You might say it's easy programming that just relies on the warm, fuzzy feeling generated by nothing more than the reaction "naww, I … [Read more...]
Twenty Twelve and Comic Relief: What We’ve Been Watching
When the writer of Twenty Twelve, John Morton, came up with the idea of a clock that counts down to the Olympics ceremony, he may have known that one actually was in the pipeline, but he couldn't have known that his show would get such a lovely PR boost from the real-life version breaking after just … [Read more...]
Agony & Ecstasy at the ballet and the Let’s Dance final: What We’ve Been Watching
Riding on the back of the success of Black Swan (as Marc Bolan didn't say) comes the nicely-timed Agony & Ecstasy: A Year with the English National Ballet. While the Oscar-adorned movie was, essentially, a genre flick with no real interest in showing the reality of life for a ballet dancer, … [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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