Friday February 27, 2009

Thatcher's last days

Lindsay Duncan was excellent as Margaret Thatcher in a TV drama last night on BBC. It charted her last days as the Tories kicked her out of office and replaced her with John Major. There were loads of well known supporting actors who also did a great job, the actor playing her husband was especially good. It has been announced she is going to be Doctor Who's sidekick in a program to be screened this year. There is a little more information on the Thatcher program here . The program did not act out the part where Thatcher was driven away from No Ten. The ghostly frozen image of her face behind the glass of her Jag was something to behold.

Wednesday February 25, 2009

Timewatching Lizzies cannons

Excellent Timewatch program last weekend. It was all about the raising of two cannons from the wreck that sunk during England's battle with the French/Spanish during Elizabeth the 1st's reign. The guy raising the cannons believed all the cannons on the wreck had the same bore size and if so proved would bring the date forward when England could produce cannons that could all share the same balls. This was a big development as when loading the cannon you did not have to find the right sized ball. It allowed you to then fire all cannons together increasing their effect on your enemy. At the end of the program they built a replica and fired it to show how good it was. It had a range of a mile! They also raised a musket and built a replica of that and that could pierce a plate of mild steel that a modern gun could only put a dent in.

Monday February 16, 2009

The Victorians - in pictures.

Promising new series started last night on BBC1. It is by the news journalist Jeremy Paxman often seen on Newsnight and as the quiz master on University Challenge. The series is about the Victorian era but he brings paintings into the program showing how the pictures reflected that era. Last night was about cities that were created in the Victorian age. He rightly shows that most of the pictures painted then showed off how good things were but ignored the squalor, poverty which were prevalent in those times. Some artists were brave enough to paint the bad side of this era. Unlike other historical shows he does not try and do the whole program solo but meets people who can explain more about the time and show off some of the marvels of the age. London's sewers were built in those times and still serve us well today. More on the series here

Thursday February 05, 2009

A Victorian Farm

On BBC2 on Thursday nights has been an interesting show about life on a Victorian Farm. Two men and one woman are basically running the place living the life people would have done for a year in a time warp. I am most impressed with their enthusiasm for what was a pretty grim life. They do get help and specialists come in and advise them on how to look after their stock, crops and so on. The funny thing is when the experts drop in they dress like the three presenters in period clothes. You don't get a vet arriving in his 4X4 with green wellingtons!

For me I would not be worried about the cold of the house or some of the other things I would have to do but some of the things they eat I could not bear eating. The other night the woman made Brawn which is basically the head of a pig boiled down. The meat and other bits are extracted and a jelly is made and the bits of meat including the brain and eyes go into this jelly and it sets.

The other interesting thing is the relationship between the presenters and animals. The pigs are the best. I just loved the bit where the heavily pregnant pig made a nest of straw for when she was going to give birth to her piglets.

More info on the program can be found here.

Monday February 02, 2009

Who do you think you are ?

A favourite of ours is back tonight . Past presenters have followed their family trees back and we have had a mixture of royalty, victims of the holocaust, criminals and other relatives both the good, the bad and ugly. Boris Johnson had us in fits of laughter and in my mind the 'nice' celebrities seem to have nice relatives. Tonight is Rory Bremner who by all accounts has relatives who played a big part in past wars.

The World at War

In my opinion the best TV series about the Second World War. This series has been channel hopping since it first came out on ITV and is now being shown on BBC2 Saturday afternoons. The narration is by Laurence Olivier who is simply perfect for the job. The introductory music is also just right for the series. Each program deals with certain aspects of the war and generally follows in some kind of historical order. Not surprisingly the episode that affects you most if the one about the holocaust but many others captured my imagination when I first saw the series when I was in my early twenties. The other aspect I like is the interviews with many people both sides of the war not just English or the allies. It is a reminder that to make such a series now would not be so effective as many of those interviewed are now dead.

Monday January 26, 2009

A short stay in Switzerland

Excellent Drama on BBC1 last night. The story was pretty raw but Julie Walters was excellent as the Doctor who found out she had a terminal illness. The story charts her decline and the effect on her, the children and friends who have just seen the husband of the family also succumb to a similar illness. Unlike him Walters decided she would not suffer from the indignity the illness would give her. The final part of the program where she goes to Switzerland was especially moving. The person this story was based on was filmed by the BBC news people and they then showed the news item after she died so no one could interfere with her plans.

Monday April 14, 2008

Waking the dead..

This series - about a cold case squad is back tonight. Trevor "Shoestring" Eve is still in charge but the series is not the same since they killed off Claire Goose .

Saturday April 05, 2008

Who is back tonight?

Dr Who is course. He has a new companion Catherine Tate who was with him on a Christmas special a couple of years ago and I said then she should be brought back for a series. Should be good.

Wednesday April 02, 2008

The curse of comedy

Excellent series this . We have had the actors behind Steptoe and Son and the second one in the series was about Tony Hancock (with a miscast Ken Stott. Tonight it is Hughie Green who was doing a talent show called Opportunity Knocks when Simon Cowell was still in nappies. He was also the father of Paul Yates.

Thursday February 01, 2007

Five days.

Last part of this excellent five parter series is on tonight. Who is going to be the person responsible for Leanne's death ? My money I am afraid is on pretty Sarah who has been befriending the family since the events unfolded.

Tuesday January 30, 2007

Waking the Dead

This series is currently on our televisions. It is led by Trevor Eve who plays Peter Boyd who is in charge of this Head of Cold Case Unit. Some folks might remember his as Shoestring a private investigator. He would like to forget that I think.... Boyd is very different. He is a maverick, very impatient, aggressive with suspects he pretty much shows off all the bad traits you could hope to find in a policeman. He is also pretty nasty with his team rarely thanking them for their work and they never seem to have a night out together. In one series we watch him being counciled for his behavior and it turns out he had a son who went missing who was never found. Sue Johnston is excellent as Grace Foley who is the teams Psychological Profiler who does her best to keep Boyd in check. She will be remembered for her role in Brookside and of course the Royle family. Wil Johnson plays Spencer Jordan a fairly unremarkable part for him. Tara FitzGerald is Eve the cigarette smoking Pathologist who does the clever work. Sadly she does not have the same talents or looks as her predecessor that was Holly Aird as Frankie Wharton who had as many brains as the rest of the team put together and was really charming. She was first seen by me in Inspector Morse , Last bus to Woodstock. Also no longer in the series is Claire Goose as Mel Silver who might not have had many brains but was a delight to look at. She died on one of the teams investigations - a sad day for the programm. Félicité Du Jeu is ok as Stella but the jury is still out wether she will be held in my affections as much as Claire Goose. The programs are usually split over two nights - Sunday/Monday - why don't the BBC do two hour programs anymore! Not a bad show.

Thursday October 26, 2006

Coast is back!

The BBC series coast is back with a new series. It promises to be as good as the first series this time visiting many new places around the UK coast.

Friday October 13, 2006

Lost in Translation

This is an excellent film. I have been to Japan twice and understand how lost Bill Murray felt out there. He is out there doing a recording for a whiskey advert I think. The story is light; nothing really happens it is just an observation of what it is like to be in that country on your own. But for me there was no Scarlet Johansson to meet and share my evenings out there with when I visited the country on two occasions. Don't get me wrong I liked the place but it is hard to adapt when points of reference you expect to see are not there, like English words, telling you where things are which direction to go on the tube etc. The Japanese I think know more English than they let on but dont' have the confidence to use it I think. I remember having a meal once and had a glass of beer. The glass was a bit to far too reach so I moved it nearer to me. Whenever the waiter came to my table he moved it back to where he wanted it to be. The other nice thing about the film for me is Bill Murray and Scarlet Johansson don't end up having an affair as most Hollywood films would have them do - they just enjoy each others company.

Friday September 29, 2006

Ice Cold in Alex

This is a truly excellent film. I mentioned it before when John Mills died. I am still trying to catch a version on the TV having missed a recent showing again. The film follows Mills and his fellow passengers in their efforts to get to Alexandria and escape the pursuing German army in World war Two. They are in an old ambulance hardly the vehicle of choice to go over the desert. The passengers include Mill's sergeant, and a chap they offer a lift to played by Anthony Quale. One of the two nurses also in the vehicle dies soon after they set off but the remaining one is played by the pretty Sylvia Sims who falls for the alchoholic Mills. It is soon clear Anthony Quale is up to no good and they do find out he is on the German side in some capacity. Mills gets his beer in Alex after several dramas which include

They have to crank the ambulance backwards up a steep sandy hill using the starting handle as it is not powerful enough or has the grip to drive up the hill. An accident means the ambulance rolls down the hill and they have to start again.

Anthony Quale has to be rescued from quicksand after a trap to try and work out why he goes for comfort break late at night turns out badly. Turns out he was contacting his German peers over the radio in his rucksack.

Anthony Quale saves the ambulance when it falls off its jacks during repair work. He uses his back to hold it up so they can get the jack back under it.

At the end of the film they have that long awaited beer in Alex after which they have to hand Anthony Quale over to the authorities. Just as they do so Mills spots a German Id badge hanging from his neck. He rips it off so ensuring Quale won't end up being tried as a spy.

An excellent film.