tv
300 Years of French and Saunders, BBC1 review - seasonal treat from the sketch duoTuesday, 26 December 2017
What joy that Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders were persuaded by the BBC to celebrate their 30 (ish) years as a comedy duo with this programme – and that this sweet confection was shown on Christmas Day. Read more... |
Maigret in Montmartre, ITV review - dirty deeds in clublandSunday, 24 December 2017
Whatever the Waitrose and Morrisons commercials are telling you, as far as TV schedulers are concerned ‘tis the season for murder. Thus a Christmas Maigret has become an instant tradition, with Rowan Atkinson reprising his performance as Georges Simenon’s dolorous detective. Read more... |
Peaky Blinders, Series 4 Finale, BBC Two review – Tommy faces his reckoningFriday, 22 December 2017
Luca Changretta got his just desserts, Alfie Solomons made a last gasp for the quiet life, and Thomas Shelby revealed his true enemy – Peaky Blinders wrapped up another exciting series in a high-octane and neat finale. Read more... |
The League of Gentlemen, BBC2 review - an anniversary to celebrateThursday, 21 December 2017
In 1994, a group of students at Bretton Hall drama school – Jeremy Dyson, Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith – began writing and performing together. Read more... |
Judi Dench: My Passion for Trees, BBC One review - an arboreal delightThursday, 21 December 2017
“I am going to find out how much my trees live, breath, and even communicate. I am Judi Dench, and I have been an actor for 60 years – but I have had another passion ever since I was a little girl: I have adored trees. My six acres are a secret woodland, and my trees are part of my extended life.” Read more... |
Agatha Christie's Crooked House, Channel 5 review - actresses chew furniture for funMonday, 18 December 2017
Crooked House is being released as a film in various territories, but has already been shown on television in America and has now surfaced as a drama on Channel 5 bearing the title Agatha Christie’s Crooked House. Read more... |
Witnesses: A Frozen Death finale, BBC Four review - weirdo childbirth cult hits the buffersSunday, 17 December 2017
It’s remarkable how pervasive the Scandi-noir formula has become, with its penchant for weird and perverted killers, labyrinthine plotting and intriguingly flawed protagonists. Read more... |
The Tunnel: Vengeance, Sky Atlantic review - entente not-so-cordialeFriday, 15 December 2017
For the third and allegedly final time, we hasten back to the Kent coast for another outbreak of cross-Channel crime. Read more... |
Bancroft, ITV review - Sarah Parish's very cold caseThursday, 14 December 2017
This week we were all meant to be gripped by a bunch of ancient geezers nicking diamonds in Hatton Gardens. The postponement of ITV’s nightly four-part drama – the second of four (four!!) different versions of the infamous burglary – is a bit of a mystery. Now you see it on the cover of the Radio Times. Read more... |
Blue Planet II, BBC One review - just how fragile?Monday, 11 December 2017
The eel is dying. Its body flits through a series of complicated knots which become increasingly grotesque torques. Immersed in a pool of brine — concentrated salt water five times denser than seawater — it is succumbing to toxic shock. As biomatter on the sea floor of the Gulf of Mexico decomposes, brine and methane are produced, and where these saline pockets collect, nothing grows. 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.
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