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Civilisations: First Contact, BBC Two review - David Olusoga goes for goldFriday, 06 April 2018
After the suave theatrical persuasions of Simon Schama and the earnest professorial shtick of Mary Beard, in episode six of Civilisations (BBC Two) it was the turn of David Olusoga, the third of the documentary's triumvirate of presenters. Read more... |
Deep State, Fox review - secrets, lies and spiesFriday, 06 April 2018
Fox is very keen to stress that Deep State is the first original production by its Europe & Africa division, the most obvious sign of which is that none of it was shot in New York or LA. Read more... |
Ordeal by Innocence, BBC One, review - Agatha Christie goes nuclearMonday, 02 April 2018
Ordeal by Innocence belongs to a new and, you hope, short-lived sub-genre. The only other stablemate is All the Money in the World. Both were in the can and good to go when very serious sexual allegations were made against a member of the cast. For the latter, Ridley Scott reshot every scene which featured Kevin Spacey, subbing in Christopher Plummer. Read more... |
Arena: Bob Dylan - Trouble No More, BBC Four review - up close and personal with Gospel BobSaturday, 31 March 2018
Dylan’s Gospel years inspired and rankled in unequal measure – with the critical brickbats and audience boos often drowning out the strength and beauty of the impassioned musical ministries delivered by Dylan between 1979 and 1981, gathering around him his five-strong chorus of gospel singers, and a crack band... Read more... |
In the Long Run, Sky 1 review - bright start for multiracial comedyFriday, 30 March 2018
It’s quite bold to create a multiracial comedy set in Hackney in the early Eighties, a not especially amusing period of riots, the Falklands War and Thatcherism. Happily, Hackney boy Idris Elba has managed it with a wry eye and a light comic touch. Read more... |
Come Home, BBC One review - a drama of family disintegration, divided loyaltiesWednesday, 28 March 2018
A woman walks out on her husband and their three kids – two teens, one five-year-old - after 19 years of marriage. She doesn’t want custody. What could be so wrong with the man that she’s driven to such drastic action? Eleven months later, Greg (Christopher Eccleston, anguished but plucky, with a shaky Northern Irish accent) doesn’t seem to have the answer. Read more... |
Mum, BBC Two, series 2 finale review - the perfect way to goWednesday, 28 March 2018
Should Mum end here? There have been only two series on BBC Two, and it closed the second with all the characters poised for the next step. A third series has been commissioned, so there will be the opportunity to see what happens next for Cathy and Michael now they’ve hugged and, for the second time, held hands. In Spain they might even get round to kissing. Read more... |
Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words, BBC One review - emotional nomad with a fragile gift for joyTuesday, 27 March 2018
Ever nursed an immoderate fondness for Ingrid Bergman? In Her Own Words, a bio-documentary released in the cinema then on DVD in 2016 and shown last night on BBC One as part of the Imagine... Read more... |
The Good Fight, Series 2, More4 review - the longer they do it, the better it getsFriday, 23 March 2018
The mystery remains of why they keep tucking away The Good Fight on More4, as they did with its illustrious predecessor The Good Wife. No disrespect to 4’s ancillary channel – now seemingly the designated last resting place of Grand Designs – but it’s like hanging a sign on the door saying “niche viewing, please knock quietly before entering”. Read more... |
Big Cats About the House, BBC Two review - irresistible feline-human bondingFriday, 23 March 2018
There is a jaguar in the house. Aged five days, and having been rejected by her mother, Maya has arrived from the wildlife park where she was born for hand-rearing by Giles Clark at his home in Kent. The cub is going to spend her early days with his family, with round-the-clock care from Giles, obsessed as he is with the situation of big cats worldwide. Read more... |
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