Television
The drugs don’t work
One of my first jobs in journalism was as the arts correspondent of the Daily Telegraph. I’d hop on my…
Tells us more about today than the early 1960s: BBC1's A Very British Scandal reviewed
For people who like a good upper-class scandal (or ‘people’, as they’re also known), 1963 was definitely a vintage year.…
Even worse than the book: Amazon Prime's The Wheel of Time reviewed
A couple of years ago, in that near-forgotten era when we could travel almost freely, I canvassed social media as…
More mesmerising than it should be – Disney+'s The Beatles: Get Back reviewed
My late friend Alexander Nekrassov loathed the Beatles, which I used to think was a wantonly contrary position akin to…
Eddie Izzard is so bad I'm hoping he gets dismembered: Sky's The Lost Symbol reviewed
If it weren’t for this job I sometimes wonder whether I’d even bother watching TV at all. This mood strikes…
Some jolly TV artifice and a rare moment of authenticity: C4’s Miriam and Alan – Lost in Scotland reviewed
Thanks to Covid, the days are gone — or at least suspended — when a TV travel programme meant a…
Profound and original and unashamedly religious: Midnight Mass reviewed
I was turned on to Midnight Mass by Ricky Gervais who raved about it in one of his social media…
A blisteringly bonkers first episode: Doctor Who – Flux reviewed
BBC1 continuity excitedly introduced the first in the new series of Doctor Who as ‘bigger and better than ever’ —…
A highly polished exercise in treading water: Season 3 of Succession reviewed
At one point in an early Simpsons, Homer comes across an old issue of TV Guide, and finds the listing…
Lurking beneath the gore are moments of wit and sensitivity: Squid Game reviewed
Should we be worried that Squid Game is the most popular show in Netflix’s history? If it’s a case of…
Blair & Brown: The New Labour Revolution should be called ‘The Tragedy of Gordon Brown'
Murder Island features eight real-life ‘ordinary people’ seeking to solve a fictional killing on a fictional Scottish island. What follows…
Somewhere between eye-opening and jaw-dropping: Sky's Hawking – Can You Hear Me? reviewed
It is, of course, not unknown for a man to become famous with the support of his family — and,…
Amateurish and implausible: BBC1's Vigil reviewed
Tense, claustrophobic, gripping, thrilling, realistic: just some of the adjectives no one is using to describe BBC1’s Sunday night submarine…
Bleak, unashamedly macho and grown-up: BBC2's The North Water reviewed
‘The world is hell, and men are both the tormented souls and the devils within it.’ This was the cheery…
Up there with Succession and Chernobyl: The White Lotus, Sky Atlantic, reviewed
Every now and then, you see a new series — Succession, say, or Chernobyl or To the Lake — which…
Apocalypse, Seventies-style: BritBox's Survivors reviewed
When the apocalypse comes, I want it to be scripted by a 1970s screenwriter. That’s my conclusion after watching the…
A total mess: BBC2's The Watch reviewed
Last Sunday on Channel 4, a man called Eric Nicoli proudly remembered ‘the bravest thing I’ve ever done’. In November…
Switch over to Eurosport: BBC's Olympic coverage reviewed
I’ve not been allowed anywhere near the TV remote control this week because of some kind of infernal sporting event…
When did Sunday night TV become so grim? Baptiste reviewed
There was, you may remember, a time when Sunday night television was rather a jolly affair: gently plotted and full…
The techniques of totalitarianism are still fully in play today
How to Become a Tyrant(Netflix) is ideal history TV for Generation No Attention Span. Presented in six bite-sized chunks by…
Looks lovely if nothing else: Craig and Bruno's Great British Road Trips reviewed
To its huge credit, ITV has managed to find perhaps the last two television celebrities who’ve never before been filmed…
The best thing on TV ever: Rick and Morty, Season 5, reviewed
I’ve been trying to avoid the house TV room as much as possible recently because it tends to be occupied…
Thoughtful and impeccable: Ken Burns's Hemingway reviewed
Ken Burns made his name in 1990 with The Civil War, the justly celebrated 11-and-a-half-hour documentary series that gave America’s…
First-rate TV: Clarkson's Farm on Amazon Prime reviewed
I was at a party the other day when who should accost me but Jeremy Clarkson. There were lots more…
GB News will succeed – even if it fails
Help! If I’m too kind to GB News, my bosses at LBC will be cross as the channel nicked their…
