Television
Frankie Boyle is a cowardly bully, and I’m ashamed I ever stood up for him
‘Outspoken comic Frankie Boyle has called on the BBC to sack “cultural tumour” Jeremy Clarkson.’ Can anyone tell me what’s…
Switching on to a new generation gap
In the world of YouTube and Netflix, generations no longer share a culture
From Anthony Trollope to Meryl Streep: the theatre of politics on stage and screen
On 1 October 1950 the BBC broadcast a seemingly innocuous little play by Val Gielgud. A light-hearted and critically unremarkable…
Why the BBC will never match Kenneth Clark’s Civilisation
No modern critic would dare match Kenneth Clark’s fearless way with sweeping statements
Without Paxman, the BBC will have just one interrogator: John Humphrys
In a double blow for the beleaguered BBC, the corporation has lost three of its most compelling attractions in little…
Six months as a TV critic, and I’ve seen enough corpses to last a lifetime
It was Shetland that tipped me over the edge. Not the place, but the TV series. Although that’s set in…
Penelope Lively’s diary: My old-age MOT
My surgery has been calling in all those over 75 for a special session with their doctor — a sort…
Warning: upspeak can wreck your career
Upspeak can damage your career prospects
Is a new art form being born on Woman's Hour?
In a comic-strip cartoon, beads of water apparently radiating outward from the head of one of the characters indicate embarrassment.…
Agitprop for toddlers: the oddly strident politics of CBeebies
The oddly strident politics of CBeebies
Harry Shearer on bringing out Richard Nixon’s feminine side
Simpsons star Harry Shearer on what it takes to play the president
Anthony Horowitz's notebook: Have our schools lost all faith in culture?
Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, the Master of the Queen’s Music, recently wrote about the almost total ignorance of young people…
Gary Bell is the real rudest man in Britain - and he's on your side
Gary Bell is the rudest man in Britain. I have known the bastard for years and no one —move over,…
Come to the Spectator office, Gareth Malone, and hear our 'Carmina Burana'
They’re now televising proceedings from the Court of Appeal. Great. As if I didn’t have enough to do already, keeping…
James Delingpole: All students need a 'sense of entitlement' — ask my fundie friend Rupert
‘Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans,’ said John Lennon. Quite apposite from a man…
Can you trade love for wealth? The economics of Breaking Bad
The acclaimed television series Breaking Bad has ended. Steffen Huck on what it can teach us about economics
Kirstie Allsopp’s diary: Why I’m terrified of Woman’s Hour
If you haven’t scuffled you haven’t lived, and our local scuffle is the best of the best. A scuffle is…
So, can we expect Channel 4 to broadcast a C of E call to prayer?
It is very lucky for the BBC that Channel 4 exists. Whatever imbecilic, supposedly attention-grabbing trash the BBC commissions, there will…
