tv
Rock Island Line: The Song That Made Britain Rock, BBC Four review - the early dawn of BritpopSaturday, 13 April 2019
If you were a fan of “Rock Island Line” when it became a pop hit, you’d have to be at least in your mid-70s now. In 1956, Paul McCartney heard Lonnie Donegan perform it live in Liverpool, and Paul’s rising 77. Read more...
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Don't Forget the Driver, BBC Two review - trying to beat the Bognor bluesWednesday, 10 April 2019
Bognor Regis was once renowned for its restorative climate and was much favoured by George V (he awarded the town the “Regis” tag), but times have changed if Toby Jones’s new series is anything to go by. Read more... |
Fleabag, Series 2 finale, BBC Three review - Phoebe Waller-Bridge's miraculous situation tragedyTuesday, 09 April 2019
The problem with Fleabag (BBC Three/BBC One) is that it makes almost all television look pedestrian. It’s like the difference between Fleabag’s scummily inadequate boyfriends and the unattainable perfection embodied by the cool sweary priest. Earth vs heaven. Water/wine. And now it is gone. Read more... |
The Widow, ITV review - Kate Beckinsale stars in tale of a missing husbandTuesday, 09 April 2019
The Williams brothers (The Missing, Liar, Rellik, Baptiste) are back. Read more... |
This Time with Alan Partridge, Series finale, BBC One review - back to his worstTuesday, 02 April 2019
Piers Morgan hated This Time with Alan Partridge (BBC One) and predicted it would be pulled before the end of the series. This may be taken as a kitemark of quality. Read more... |
Line of Duty, Series 5, BBC One review - already it's dark, dirty and dangerousMonday, 01 April 2019
Congratulations to Stephen Graham, guest-starring in this fifth season of BBC One’s Line of Duty, for still being alive at the end of episode one, a favour not routinely granted to headline names in Jed Mercurio’s... Read more... |
The Beatles: Made on Merseyside, BBC Four review - when the Fab Four were fiveSaturday, 30 March 2019
Documentaries about the 20th century’s most fabled quartet keep coming. Read more... |
Dead Pixels, E4, review - gamers for a laughFriday, 29 March 2019
The joke in Dead Pixels, a new sitcom on E4, is that there is a better life to be pursued in the fantasy world of videogames. In this alt. environment, outcomes can be controlled by consoles and keyboards, squeamishness about violence can be parked and you are free to be your best or worst self. Read more... |
Road to Brexit, BBC Two review - a rotten historian for a rotten parliamentWednesday, 27 March 2019
Let me be clear. The agonising process of the UK’s departure, or not, from the EU will be an infinite field of academic study over the decades to come. Read more... |
Victoria, Series 3, ITV review - can Her Maj cope with the Age of Revolution?Monday, 25 March 2019
ITV has an enviable knack for creating populist historical costume dramas which never seem to wear out, despite a million rotations on ITV3. Read more... |
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It all started on 09/09/09. That memorable date, September 9 2009, marked the debut of theartsdesk.com.
It followed some...
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