tv
Line of Duty, Series 5, BBC One review - already it's dark, dirty and dangerousMonday, 01 April 2019
Congratulations to Stephen Graham, guest-starring in this fifth season of BBC One’s Line of Duty, for still being alive at the end of episode one, a favour not routinely granted to headline names in Jed Mercurio’s... Read more... |
The Beatles: Made on Merseyside, BBC Four review - when the Fab Four were fiveSaturday, 30 March 2019
Documentaries about the 20th century’s most fabled quartet keep coming. Read more... |
Dead Pixels, E4, review - gamers for a laughFriday, 29 March 2019
The joke in Dead Pixels, a new sitcom on E4, is that there is a better life to be pursued in the fantasy world of videogames. In this alt. environment, outcomes can be controlled by consoles and keyboards, squeamishness about violence can be parked and you are free to be your best or worst self. Read more... |
Road to Brexit, BBC Two review - a rotten historian for a rotten parliamentWednesday, 27 March 2019
Let me be clear. The agonising process of the UK’s departure, or not, from the EU will be an infinite field of academic study over the decades to come. Read more... |
Victoria, Series 3, ITV review - can Her Maj cope with the Age of Revolution?Monday, 25 March 2019
ITV has an enviable knack for creating populist historical costume dramas which never seem to wear out, despite a million rotations on ITV3. Read more... |
Pose, BBC Two review - transgender goes mainstreamFriday, 22 March 2019
NYC, 1987. AIDS is ravaging the city, Reagan’s in power, Trump is in his tower. The American dream is available - to some. And for some of those to whom it’s not, there’s the world of balls, vogueing and competing for trophies. If your family has kicked you out for being gay or trans, the balls are a place where you can strike a pose, find acceptance and make your legendary mark. Read more... |
The Bay, ITV, review - Broadchurch goes northThursday, 21 March 2019
In the 1970s, the Mancunian stand-up Colin Crompton had a famous routine about Morecambe. He characterised Morecambe as “a sort of cemetery with lights” where “they don't bury their dead, they stand them up in bus shelters with a bingo ticket in their hand”. Read more... |
Shetland, Series 5 Finale, BBC One review - Sicario-on-Sea?Wednesday, 20 March 2019
Thing is, a lot of this unpleasantness could have been avoided if DI Jimmy Perez had just watched the second series of The Missing. Read more... |
Showbands, BBC Four review - an Irish cultural phenomenon explainedSaturday, 16 March 2019
Ask most people what a showband is and they’ll give you a blank look. But ask any Irish person (or those born in the Irish diaspora) who is north of 50 and they will probably look misty-eyed. For between the late 1950s and 1980s showbands were a huge Irish cultural phenomenon, and Ardal O’Hanlon was our amiable guide through this brief but illuminating history of them. Read more... |
Cheat, ITV review - fear and loathing in academiaTuesday, 12 March 2019
As fans of Inspector Morse are well aware, there are plenty of snakes lurking in the grass at our premier seats of learning. Read more... |
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It all started on 09/09/09. That memorable date, September 9 2009, marked the debut of theartsdesk.com.
It followed some...
Bergerac, U&Drama review - the Jersey 'tec is born...
They stopped making the BBC’s original Bergerac in 1991, so you can hardly complain that this reboot is premature. John Nettles became...
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The Last Showgirl review - Pamela Anderson stars as a middle...
Shelly (Pamela Anderson) is a dancer. She’s been with Le Razzle Dazzle, an outdated Las Vegas show that’s full of “breasts, rhinestones and joy”,...
The Score, Theatre Royal Haymarket review - curious beast of...
Why is it so hard to write a decent play about Bach? Maybe, in part, because there are no words...
Album: Abel Selaocoe - Hymns of Bantu
The musician Abel Selaocoe reaches out to the ancestors, African and European, continuing a journey that spans continents and centuries, an...
The Ferryman, Gaiety Theatre, Dublin review - Jez Butterwort...
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Helen Charlston, Sholto Kynoch, Temple Church review - fine...
Mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston just gets better and better, both as singer and as actor. Last night’s recital at Temple Church had an unusual and...
Ridout, 12 Ensemble, Wigmore Hall review - brilliant Britten...
Last night was the first time I had heard the 12 Ensemble, a string group currently Artist-in-Residence at the Wigmore Hall, and I was very...