The Diary of Anne Frank
Part 3 (of 5)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Lark Rise to Candleford
2x02 Episode 2
Things actually seem to happen now in Lark Rise...! It's quite astounding.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query "Lark Rise". Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query "Lark Rise". Sort by date Show all posts
Wednesday, 7 January 2009
Saturday, 21 March 2009
TV
Damages
2x05 I Agree, It Wasn't Funny
I think Damages has a few too many balls in play this season. Complex, multi-stranded, multi-layered TV is great, but with so many disparate plots going on Damages has to keep flitting between them, leaving some out entirely. It's not bad, but pulling things back a little -- to the level of complexity offered by season one, to be precise -- would improve things. If it's not careful, it'll go the way of 24...
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
The Graham Norton Show
5x02 (12/3/09 edition, uncut repeat)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Lark Rise to Candleford
2x11 Episode 11
Many series have "Next Time" trails these days. I like them -- it's a nice little tease for what's coming up. Except on Lark Rise, where last week's trailer gave away nearly all of this week's twists. Oh dear.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Nature's Great Events
Part 6 The Great Feast [final part]
Jumping ahead for iPlayer-related reasons (which is fine, because the episodes aren't connected).
Lots of stunning footage in this one, but none more so than the bait-ball -- like an action sequence from a movie thanks to some great camerawork, fine editing and well-chosen music. Engrossing.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
2x05 I Agree, It Wasn't Funny
I think Damages has a few too many balls in play this season. Complex, multi-stranded, multi-layered TV is great, but with so many disparate plots going on Damages has to keep flitting between them, leaving some out entirely. It's not bad, but pulling things back a little -- to the level of complexity offered by season one, to be precise -- would improve things. If it's not careful, it'll go the way of 24...
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
The Graham Norton Show
5x02 (12/3/09 edition, uncut repeat)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Lark Rise to Candleford
2x11 Episode 11
Many series have "Next Time" trails these days. I like them -- it's a nice little tease for what's coming up. Except on Lark Rise, where last week's trailer gave away nearly all of this week's twists. Oh dear.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Nature's Great Events
Part 6 The Great Feast [final part]
Jumping ahead for iPlayer-related reasons (which is fine, because the episodes aren't connected).
Lots of stunning footage in this one, but none more so than the bait-ball -- like an action sequence from a movie thanks to some great camerawork, fine editing and well-chosen music. Engrossing.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Thursday, 5 February 2009
TV
Lark Rise to Candleford
2x06 Episode 6
If I didn't know better, I'd've thought this was the last episode. By Lark Rise standards, positively action-packed.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
2x06 Episode 6
If I didn't know better, I'd've thought this was the last episode. By Lark Rise standards, positively action-packed.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Tuesday, 17 March 2009
TV
Cracker
1x06 One Day a Lemming Will Fly Part 1
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]
Lark Rise to Candleford
2x10 Episode 10
Oh my, Lark Rise appears to have turned into a broad sitcom! (I'm sure some would argue it always was.) It also seems to run out of story about three-quarters of the way through, which is a shame.
More of a shame, however, as the "Next Time" trailer, apparently giving away all of the twists in next week's episode. That's just stupidity.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
1x06 One Day a Lemming Will Fly Part 1
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]
Lark Rise to Candleford
2x10 Episode 10
Oh my, Lark Rise appears to have turned into a broad sitcom! (I'm sure some would argue it always was.) It also seems to run out of story about three-quarters of the way through, which is a shame.
More of a shame, however, as the "Next Time" trailer, apparently giving away all of the twists in next week's episode. That's just stupidity.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Friday, 30 January 2009
TV
Broken Saints
Chapter 15 Tempest
Lark Rise to Candleford
2x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Not Going Out
3x01 Pregnant
I remember, when Not Going Out started, being worried it wouldn't even make it to a second series; but here's the third, and there was a Christmas special to boot! (Research reveals that was Christmas 2007, and there hasn't been a series since. God, time flies -- I didn't think it was this year, but it also doesn't feel like almost 13 months since it was last on. I must be getting old...)
Anyway, the quality seems to have stepped back up too (the second series wasn't half as good as the first). Incredibly traditional sitcom? Undoubtedly. Some jokes predictable? Yes. But it's still hilarious, so does that matter? Not a jot.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Chapter 15 Tempest
Lark Rise to Candleford
2x05 Episode 5
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Not Going Out
3x01 Pregnant
I remember, when Not Going Out started, being worried it wouldn't even make it to a second series; but here's the third, and there was a Christmas special to boot! (Research reveals that was Christmas 2007, and there hasn't been a series since. God, time flies -- I didn't think it was this year, but it also doesn't feel like almost 13 months since it was last on. I must be getting old...)
Anyway, the quality seems to have stepped back up too (the second series wasn't half as good as the first). Incredibly traditional sitcom? Undoubtedly. Some jokes predictable? Yes. But it's still hilarious, so does that matter? Not a jot.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Tuesday, 10 March 2009
TV
Lark Rise to Candleford
2x09 Episode 9
By turns hilarious for good reasons (Minnie!) and hilarious for bad reasons (the sickening sentiment, such as when the two villages make up).
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Orangutan Diary
2x02 Episode 2 [2nd half]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
2x09 Episode 9
By turns hilarious for good reasons (Minnie!) and hilarious for bad reasons (the sickening sentiment, such as when the two villages make up).
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Orangutan Diary
2x02 Episode 2 [2nd half]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Wednesday, 21 January 2009
TV
Lark Rise to Candleford
2x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
The Sandbaggers
2x05 It Couldn't Happen Here
The Secret Life of Elephants
Part 2 (of 3)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
2x04 Episode 4
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
The Sandbaggers
2x05 It Couldn't Happen Here
The Secret Life of Elephants
Part 2 (of 3)
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
Sunday, 21 December 2008
TV
Britain's Got an Extra Pop Factor ...And Then Some!
'Part Three' of Peter Kay's excellent talent show spoof. Very funny with plenty of new material, though the damn recording cut out before the end and it's not be found online (yet). Dammit.
Heroes
3x10 The Eclipse Part 1
3x11 The Eclipse Part 2
Answers? Not really. But Volume Three is nearly over now, so it must be going somewhere. I hope.
Lark Rise to Candleford
2x01 Episode 1 (Christmas Special)
As genteel as ever, though with a nice bit of Victorian Christmas production design (the sheer volume of snow is quite astounding) and a surprising ghostly plot, perfectly suited to the setting (if not the series).
Outnumbered
2x06 Episode 6
'Part Three' of Peter Kay's excellent talent show spoof. Very funny with plenty of new material, though the damn recording cut out before the end and it's not be found online (yet). Dammit.
Heroes
3x10 The Eclipse Part 1
3x11 The Eclipse Part 2
Answers? Not really. But Volume Three is nearly over now, so it must be going somewhere. I hope.
Lark Rise to Candleford
2x01 Episode 1 (Christmas Special)
As genteel as ever, though with a nice bit of Victorian Christmas production design (the sheer volume of snow is quite astounding) and a surprising ghostly plot, perfectly suited to the setting (if not the series).
Outnumbered
2x06 Episode 6
Sunday, 22 March 2009
TV
Dancing On Ice
2009 Final
God I hate Ray Quinn. I'm mentioning it purely to say that.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]
I've Never Seen Star Wars
1x01 Clive Anderson
The intriguingly-titled radio series transitions to TV, filling the Room 101-shaped hole in the schedules. (Interestingly, the second series of the radio version has only just finished broadcasting. One has to wonder if it will continue if the TV version takes off...)
The concept is fairly simple: comedian Marcus Brigstocke subjects a guest to five cultural experiences that they've never tried before. For example, his first guest is Clive Anderson, who is made to spend an hour in a flotation tank, read Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus, play the National Lottery, watch Withnail and I, and have a go at judo.
It's a slightly unusual format, but also quite a fun one with lots of potential. And, obviously, varied cultural experiences are right up this blog's street.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Lark Rise to Candleford
2x12 Episode 12 [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
QI
6x12 Food (extended edition) [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
2009 Final
God I hate Ray Quinn. I'm mentioning it purely to say that.
[Watch it (again) on ITV Player.]
I've Never Seen Star Wars
1x01 Clive Anderson
The intriguingly-titled radio series transitions to TV, filling the Room 101-shaped hole in the schedules. (Interestingly, the second series of the radio version has only just finished broadcasting. One has to wonder if it will continue if the TV version takes off...)
The concept is fairly simple: comedian Marcus Brigstocke subjects a guest to five cultural experiences that they've never tried before. For example, his first guest is Clive Anderson, who is made to spend an hour in a flotation tank, read Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus, play the National Lottery, watch Withnail and I, and have a go at judo.
It's a slightly unusual format, but also quite a fun one with lots of potential. And, obviously, varied cultural experiences are right up this blog's street.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Lark Rise to Candleford
2x12 Episode 12 [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
QI
6x12 Food (extended edition) [season finale]
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Thursday, 4 September 2008
Lost in Austen: Part One
"Is she mad, in a bonnet or back in time?"
ITV clearly think they have a huge hit on their hands here, based on the constant promotion it's been getting in their ad breaks and across their chat shows and morning TV thingies. And it's easy to see why, considering the mix of formulas they've concocted.
Period drama? Always popular -- just look at the recent success of series like Cranford and Lark Rise to Candleford, as well as innumerable others in the history of television.
Jane Austen? Especially popular -- look at the esteem in which the 1995 BBC Pride and Prejudice is still held, the financial and critical success of the recent Pride & Prej film, and again the success of ITV's even more recent adaptations of Austen's three lesser-done novels; not to mention the two biopics in the past year (or so), Becoming Jane and Miss Austen Regrets.
Time travel? Most definitely popular -- look at the ratings-dominating success of the revived Doctor Who, the more moderate but not irrelevant success of Primeval, and, most pertinent to this example, the critical and ratings success of Life On Mars and it's sequel/spin-off, Ashes to Ashes.
Put all these together -- with a dash of Bridget Jones for good measure -- and you get Lost in Austen, which mixes a cut-price Austen-esque cast (this is ITV rather than the BBC, after all) and all the popular tropes of traditional costume dramas, with time travel tomfoolery and jokes about reality TV and pubic hair styles (I kid you not). Plot-wise, it comes across a bit like they wanted to do an adaptation of Pride & Prej, but thought it was either too soon (considering the film was all of three years ago, and that felt hot on the heels of the then-10-years-old TV series) or that an ITV audience wouldn't be all that interested, so have given it a big twist.
After the first, largely entertaining, episode (of four), it remains to be seen if it can pass beyond being a LOM rip-off / yet another Austen adaptation to become something of its own.
ITV clearly think they have a huge hit on their hands here, based on the constant promotion it's been getting in their ad breaks and across their chat shows and morning TV thingies. And it's easy to see why, considering the mix of formulas they've concocted.
Period drama? Always popular -- just look at the recent success of series like Cranford and Lark Rise to Candleford, as well as innumerable others in the history of television.
Jane Austen? Especially popular -- look at the esteem in which the 1995 BBC Pride and Prejudice is still held, the financial and critical success of the recent Pride & Prej film, and again the success of ITV's even more recent adaptations of Austen's three lesser-done novels; not to mention the two biopics in the past year (or so), Becoming Jane and Miss Austen Regrets.
Time travel? Most definitely popular -- look at the ratings-dominating success of the revived Doctor Who, the more moderate but not irrelevant success of Primeval, and, most pertinent to this example, the critical and ratings success of Life On Mars and it's sequel/spin-off, Ashes to Ashes.
Put all these together -- with a dash of Bridget Jones for good measure -- and you get Lost in Austen, which mixes a cut-price Austen-esque cast (this is ITV rather than the BBC, after all) and all the popular tropes of traditional costume dramas, with time travel tomfoolery and jokes about reality TV and pubic hair styles (I kid you not). Plot-wise, it comes across a bit like they wanted to do an adaptation of Pride & Prej, but thought it was either too soon (considering the film was all of three years ago, and that felt hot on the heels of the then-10-years-old TV series) or that an ITV audience wouldn't be all that interested, so have given it a big twist.
After the first, largely entertaining, episode (of four), it remains to be seen if it can pass beyond being a LOM rip-off / yet another Austen adaptation to become something of its own.
Friday, 15 January 2010
Wednesday, 13 May 2009
TV
Broken Saints
Chapter 24 Truth [finale episode]
See here for my thoughts on this chapter.
The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency
1x04 Problems in Moral Philosophy
For a programme that's so perfect for Sunday night -- genteel, funny, nice -- the episodes seem to go by awfully quickly. Which is a good thing -- Lark Rise..., for example, does drag so.
The Wire
2x05 Undertow
The Wire hasn't gone totally off the ball, but some scenes in this season lack the could-be-a-documentary realism of the first. And I'm not talking some shaky handheld style thing here (thankfully, the makers of The Wire seem to know about tripods and Steadicams -- perhaps they could lend some to J.J. Abrams), but the dialogue and performances. It's not throughout, but just occasionally it feels much more 'fictional' than before -- no problem in much shows, but it belies what made this series so different and so good.
Chapter 24 Truth [finale episode]
See here for my thoughts on this chapter.
The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency
1x04 Problems in Moral Philosophy
For a programme that's so perfect for Sunday night -- genteel, funny, nice -- the episodes seem to go by awfully quickly. Which is a good thing -- Lark Rise..., for example, does drag so.
The Wire
2x05 Undertow
The Wire hasn't gone totally off the ball, but some scenes in this season lack the could-be-a-documentary realism of the first. And I'm not talking some shaky handheld style thing here (thankfully, the makers of The Wire seem to know about tripods and Steadicams -- perhaps they could lend some to J.J. Abrams), but the dialogue and performances. It's not throughout, but just occasionally it feels much more 'fictional' than before -- no problem in much shows, but it belies what made this series so different and so good.
Saturday, 21 February 2009
TV
Lark Rise to Candleford
2x08 Episode 8
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Let's Dance for Comic Relief
Episode 1 (of 4)
It's for charity, you can't begrudge it too much. Besides which, Michael McIntyre was an inspired choice for a judge (I hope he's on it every week) and Robert Webb's rendition of Flashdance was priceless. And to top it off there was the video for Nessa & Bryn's Barry Islands in the Stream -- fantastic.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
2x08 Episode 8
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Let's Dance for Comic Relief
Episode 1 (of 4)
It's for charity, you can't begrudge it too much. Besides which, Michael McIntyre was an inspired choice for a judge (I hope he's on it every week) and Robert Webb's rendition of Flashdance was priceless. And to top it off there was the video for Nessa & Bryn's Barry Islands in the Stream -- fantastic.
[Watch it (again) on iPlayer.]
Thursday, 12 March 2009
Tuesday's updates
As well as Wednesday's updates going up on time, Tuesday's are now online too. They include...
TV - Lark Rise and orangutans.
Non-Fiction - more about poetry.
Articles - including fantastic Watchmen LEGO!
Friday, 16 January 2009
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