The Antichrist and Big Brother

It was good to see Mark Lawson in The Guardian last week turning his attention to Big Brother.  Read more

…But is it art?

So, in this month’s Doctor Who Magazine (out about now, so pester your newsagent), I have a 10-page feature wherein I try to discover if Doctor Who is actually good television.

Now, to be honest, this is more a conceit to talk to a range of TV experts who haven’t ever really gone on the record with their views about the series, so I hope there is some fresh opinion within.

When I submitted the piece, I also filed some additional box-out bits, but Editor Tom Spilsbury opted not to use them all.  So, with his permission, I’m slinging some of them here, on OTT. (I do also have graphs charting AIs, ratings and just general ‘success-ratings’  for Doctor Who – and elements therein – over the years, but some dull techie problems prevent me from getting them all online right now… maybe another time).

Thus, please do click-through; read these bits and – should you also buy DWM (and you should) – feel free to tell me what you thought of the piece. Here we go, then… Read the story »

Doctor Bow

A new era of Doctor Who gets underway today as filming began on the show’s 2010 series. And to beat the spoilers, Matt Smith’s new, pleasingly boffinish costume was revealed on this morning’s edition of Breakfast at 8.55am.

More than that, the press release attached to this event is the first issued by Premier PR – who also work on Ashes to Ashes, Hustle and Spooks – since they won the contract from Doctor Who‘s long-standing publicists Taylor Herring earlier in the year (although Taylor Herring will still be dealing with all press for the remaining David Tennant episodes). And here’s what it says… Read more

As Seen on TV

The problem with panel shows is audiences have become accustomed to them being one of two things… Read more

A little off the top

The BBC are getting defensive over plans to top slice the licence fee, but do their arguments hold water? Read more

Get Mad!

Mad Men series two, is out on DVD and Blu-ray today, July 13, courtesy of Lionsgate Home Entertainment.

Detailing the fear and loathing within a 1960s advertising agency on New York’s Madison Avenue, the US drama has aired in the UK on BBC4, to great critical acclaim.

A third season is scheduled to air in America from August, but – going by previous form – won’t make it over here until the start of 2010. To help bide the time until then, OTT has spoken to those nice people at Lionsgate, and bagged three copies of the season two DVD – “packed with featurettes and audio commentaries on key episodes, offering unmissable insights into the world of Mad Men” – to give away to three OTT readers. Read more

Torchwood: Children of Earth

Having prematurely washed my hands of this latest series of Torchwood (at least in print), it seems only fair that I should redress the balance.  Read more

Radio on the telly

Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo are bringing their Friday movie review from Five Live to BBC2. Read more

Strictly switch-around for BBC1 autumn

Strictly ‘refreshed’, 16 celebs going around the world in 80 days, Take That headlining a Children in Need concert at The Albert Hall and Totally Saturday “not as good as it should be”: Today’s press launch for the autumn season on BBC1.

BBC1 Controller Jay Hunt was on confident, bullish form as she unveiled BBC1′s new season line-up (joshing the event was quite nerve-wracking for her “given what happened to my predecessor… I’ve looked at all the pictures you’re going to see today, and I didn’t see someone walking backwards when they should have been walking forwards… but I might have missed something”). Read more

ITV1′s scheduling reel

ITV1 has just announced major scheduling changes for w/c 18 July. Read more

Torchwood: Children of Earth

Pretty much everything that’s wrong with Torchwood: Children of Earth can be summed up by one shot Read more

Del Boy: The early years

The BBC has just announced the long-rumoured commission of an Only Fools and Horses prequel. Read more

Robin Hood bows out

There is a certain inevitability about the news of the cancellation of Robin Hood. Read more

Richard and Judy

Richard Madeley is a student of history. He knows this because he says he is. Read more