TV
The best Macbeths to watch online
The world’s greatest playwright ought to be dynamite at the movies. But it’s notoriously hard to turn a profit from…
Netflix’s Caliphate is all too frighteningly plausible
Sweden is now properly celebrated as the Land that Called Coronavirus Correctly. But in the distant past, those with long…
Joyous and very, very funny: Beastie Boys Story reviewed
The music of the Beastie Boys was entirely an expression of their personalities, a chance to delightedly splurge out on…
Riveting – and disgusting: BFI's 'Dogs v Cats' and 'Eating In' collections reviewed
This week I’d like to point you in the direction of the British Film Institute and its free online archive…
Not merely funny but somehow also joyous: Sky One's Brassic reviewed
Danny Brocklehurst, the scriptwriter for Sky One’s Brassic, used to work for Shameless in its glory days — although if…
How Tom Stoppard foretold what we’re living through
A TV play by Tom Stoppard, A Separate Peace, was broadcast live on Zoom last Saturday. I watched as my…
The unstoppable rise of television-rewatch podcasts
Talking Sopranos — a new weekly podcast which launched this month— is another example of a seemingly unstoppable sub-genre occupying…
Superbly convincing: Unorthodox reviewed
When I lived briefly in Stamford Hill I was mesmerised by the huge fur hats (shtreimel) worn by the local…
The importance of sadism in writing a great screenplay
How do you tell a great story? According to Craig Mazin, you have to be a sadist. ‘As a writer,…
Felt longer than the lockdown itself: BBC1's One World – Together At Home reviewed
You have to admire the spirit of the organisers of last weekend’s One World: Together at Home concert. To put…
Classic tangled thriller: Sky's Gangs of London reviewed
There were plenty of TV shows around this week designed to cheer us up. Sky Atlantic’s Gangs of London, however,…
The Amazon Prime doc that will convert anyone to cricket
Imagine rooting for the Australian cricket team. If you’re Scottish, Welsh or Irish — or Australian obviously — it might…
An extraordinary tale: BBC2’s The Countess and the Russian Billionaire reviewed
There can’t be many programmes that bring to mind quotations from both Henry Kissinger and Boney M., but BBC2’s The…
Welder, banjo player, comedian, actor, and now artist – Billy Connolly interviewed
William Cook talks to Billy Connolly – welder, banjo player, comedian, actor, and now artist – about growing up in Glasgow, ditching the mike stand and living with Parkinson’s
Taylor Swift is fascinating – but you really wouldn't want to be her
There had been some question about whether Taylor Swift’s Netflix special would actually appear. Last year it seemed that the…
Foreign language TV is without the political correctness spoiling English drama
Every cloud has a silver lining. Never again are you likely to have a better opportunity to catch up with…
Riveting documentary about a remarkable man: Harry Birrell Presents Films of Love and War reviewed
First shown on BBC Scotland, Harry Birrell Presents Films of Love and War (BBC4, Wednesday) was the documentary equivalent of…
Old-school Sunday-night family viewing: ITV's Belgravia reviewed
The world may be going to hell in a handcart but some things remain reassuringly unchanged: Julian Fellowes period dramas…
The creators of Breeders are locked into a game of How Far Can You Go
Sky One’s Breeders (Thursday) bills itself as an ‘honest and uncompromising comedy’ about parenting. To this end, the opening scene…
Too edgy and clever to be wasted on kids: Netflix’s Locke & Key reviewed
One of my perpetual gnawing terrors is that I’ll recommend a series that looks initially promising but turns out to…
‘I feel compelled to be disgraceful’: Miriam Margolyes interviewed
Miriam Margolyes chews the fat with Tanya Gold about mother love, anti-Zionism and too much shagging
Some of the best Austen adaptations are the most unfaithful
You won’t find much Jane Austen in the myriad adaptations of her novels, says Claire Harman
Odd but gripping: BBC1’s The Pale Horse reviewed
Not much was clear in the opening scenes of The Pale Horse (BBC1, Sunday), which even by current TV standards…
SAS: Who Dares Wins is harsh, gruelling and transgressively countercultural
SAS: Who Dares Wins (Channel 4, Sundays) is literally the only programme left on terrestrial TV that I can bear…
Understated, unashamedly patriotic and heartbreaking: The Windermere Children reviewed
One of the many astonishing things about the BBC2 drama The Windermere Children (Monday) was that the real-life story it…
