Monthly Archives: April 2012

I was really looking forward to Luther, having heard of Idris Elba’s great performance and the show’s grim, twisted storylines. After the screening, which was admittedly highly stylized and cinematic in nature, I was left a bit underwhelmed, though entertained. … Continue reading →

After hearing the concept of Blackpool, I was actually optimistic about it. I did theatre in high school and usually enjoy musicals so I thought Blackpool would be interesting. Yes, singing along with the original music is strange but for … Continue reading →

In class, I mentioned that I didn’t really take to Luther because I didn’t feel that Idris Elba’s character was anything more than a cookie cutter “tortured soul” type of character. That’s not a knock against Mr. Elba’s acting; I … Continue reading →

I found it interesting in our discussion on Monday how the British classify drama into so many distinct categories. But even more so, I found it interesting how most of those categories did not seem to translate to US audiences, … Continue reading →

This post by Time TV critic James Poniewozik is about anti-hero characters on American TV, but it makes me reflect on some of the things we’ve been talking about in regard to British comedies and dramas and about how perhaps … Continue reading →

ITV’s Wild at Heart has been cancelled by ITV, even though it still does quite well in the ratings, and the cast is claiming it’s because ITV is broke from Titanic. A sizable grain of salt is required considering the … Continue reading →

So I just got out of breakfast with Lord Patten of Barnes, chairman of the BBC Trust. Aside from heading up the BBC, Lord Patten currently serves as the chancellor of Oxford University and was the last governor of Hong … Continue reading →

The Baftas have announced the nominees for the Audience Award, with the winner chosen by popular vote (this is the one that Only Way Is Essex won last year, stunning many, including Martin Freeman). Sherlock is the only nominee we’ve … Continue reading →

In this week’s blog post, I am going to focus my attention on Ricky Gervais’s new show Derek, as I found the show and the controversy surrounding it far more interesting than either Luther or Blackpool. After Professor Becker described … Continue reading →

A BBC arts commissioner blames low visibility for arts programming on insufficient marketing by the BBC.

Here is another post on Simon Cowell’s shift to feel-good television. It seems the meanest man on British television (and American, for that matter) is at least trying to let up on his trademark acidic barbs — albeit, begrudgingly. You … Continue reading →

Idris Elba. That, in my opinion, is what “Luther” is about — because frankly, the show does not seem to do much else to set it apart from other police procedurals. Rogue police officer? Been there, done that. Cop with … Continue reading →

“Organizers of the London Olympics approached the Who’s manager to inquire about having Keith Moon play at an Olympics event despite the drummer being dead for nearly 34 years, the Sunday Times reports.” Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/olympics-organizers-ask-keith-moon-to-play-closing-ceremony-20120413#ixzz1rzBjQQEQ

BBC3 is developing a new combo of reality TV and sketch show: “A new BBC3 sketch show will attempt to repeat the “structured reality” trick of The Only Way is Essex – but this time with laughs. Boom Town will feature a cast made up … Continue reading →

“Channel 4 has pulled a comedy sketch in which blind man groped a female nude model in life art class in front of duped students.”