TV

The Choir: Unsung Town
Part 2 (of 3)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]

Harper's Island
1x01 Whap
1x02 Crackle
Someone on twitter described this as "soap noir replete with the trappings of the slasher film genre". "Soap noir" is clearly a term they've just made up (when before has a soap ever been noir?), but it's not a bad description in fact. The writing's no better than a US daytime soap, for example, though it's then incongruously shot with all the flair of an above-average director. (I say incongruously -- I bet most viewers wouldn't notice, and if you gave US daytime soaps such good direction they'd suddenly consider those a higher form of drama too.) Additionally, the scenery on display is absolutely stunning, especially in HD. I hope the rest of the series can live up to the direction on display here.
Depending who you believe, Harper's Island is either an on-going series cancelled after just one half-length season, or a 13-part murder mystery that was always intended as a one-off. As they only seemed to start saying this once it was cancelled one would suspect the former, but the very format (because it is indeed a 13-part murder mystery) would seem to suggest just a single season.
One other thing -- be wary of that Wikipedia link up top, it contains bags of spoilers (including a complete character-by-character 'death chart'!)
[Watch Whap and Crackle (again) on iPlayer.]

Mercury Prize Live
I ended up seeing the start after The Choir and thought I may as well watch the whole thing. As you can tell, I'm not really fussed about the Mercury Prize -- indeed, I have no idea who the winner, Speech Debelle, is, and the same goes for the majority of the nominees.