The Weather Forecast

Serving a small but useful function we often take The Weather Forecast for granted. Read more

Baddiel and Skinner Unplanned

“Two blokes, one sofa, no script” goes the tag line as David Baddiel and Frank Skinner improvise for 30 minutes (well, the ITV equivalent of 30 minutes) in a live programme in front of a studio audience. Is this a folly? Read more

Hollyoaks

For quite a while now, Hollyoaks has been the best soap opera on TV. Read more

Arena: The Veil

Yes, it’s still going. I rather thought that Arena had ended ages ago, because I haven’t seen any extensive theme nights or overlong documentaries for a while. But no, the familiar “message in a bottle” title sequence introduced the documentary, and this wasn’t the only old-fashioned motif in the programme. Read more

The Bafta Television Awards 2000

So they still do these kind of things, do they? Starry clothed backdrops? Cheap, cheesy music? Camera shots from the gods either side of the commercial breaks, and appalling Steve Jones voice-overs? Read more

Bob Martin

“‘Phone Ainsley Harriott’ – great” Read more

Tony’s New Boy Network

t’s a key part of Tony Blair’s obsessive modernity rhetoric that his government has removed all the old barriers, appointments simply because of an old school tie, and power of unelected peers to overpower what a democratically-elected government has done. Read more

Vote 2000

There is almost something addictive about waiting for the result of an election on BBC television; a sort of nervous excitement that accompanies staying up late into the night to watch, hoping to find yourself witness to some of the most dramatic and memorable moments of television history. Read more