Is there such a thing as melancholic electronica? ‘Melanctonica’? If there isn’t already then Cristobal Tapia de Veer just invented it with the soundtrack to Channel 4’s huge summer hit, Humans (ahh, remember when we were all sweating Pimms and wondering what Colin Morgan’s character Leo was?). And if you watched the show or were … >
The BBC’s On Stage season has thrown up a few gems and the Beeb should be applauded for their efforts to expose regional theatre to a wider national audience. However, Live from Television Centre showcased four very different performances which proved to be a mixed bag of talent. My biggest bugbear of any live television … >
Episodes 2-4 of Jessica Jones indicated that this was a show that’s confident to move at its own pace, evenly doling out plot twists across the season in a strategy of delayed gratification. The next batch of three episodes sees more groundwork laid for the inevitable explosion, before delving into some thrilling pay-off on all … >
“The end of lies.” So says Scottie in the fourth episode of London Spy. This week, the mystery is kicked up a gear as answers begin to materialise. Tom Rob Smith’s BBC Two drama has spent the past few weeks dangling suggestions and red herrings in front of us like a cat with string, but … >
The Walking Dead’s mid-season finales have always been a bit of a lottery. On one end, there’s the satisfying, game-changing action of Season 4’s prison battle, and on the other there’s the mostly lethargic winter finale from last year. One thing has united every mid-season finale, however – a huge, emotional event to push the … >
Bringing the Swinging ‘60s to Brighton, hit musical Hairspray opened last night at Theatre Royal. The Broadway musical has had a long-running stint at the West End, and now embarks on a huge UK tour of smaller theatres across the country. The adaptation from much larger stages to that of the smaller venues such as … >
Barry Gray’s score for Thunderbirds is a tough act to follow. It’s amazing, timeless music; so good that it even gets used on Cadbury adverts in 2015, five decades since it first played on television! So composing an updated score for a new Thunderbirds TV series, one can imagine the task being quite a daunting … >
Dorian Gray is real, and inspired the Oscar Wilde novel. He does have a portrait in his attic, and is forever young. This is the premise behind Big Finish’s Dorian Gray range, and here Alexander Vlahos (Merlin) returns once more to play the (at times) amoral hedonist. These stories are very much aimed at adults … >
After last week’s ‘The Calyx’, we take a break to the country this time – but the action and adventure don’t get left behind. Five episodes in, Jekyll and Hyde now seems much more confident in mixing a standalone story with Robert’s quest for answers. Here we get the brilliant Amelia Bullmore as the monster-of-the-week … >
Countless question marks later, we’re already at the penultimate episode of The Returned Season 2. Gone by quick, hasn’t it? Ah see, there’s another question mark right there. This show breeds them, like lapins. But there are fewer opportunities to jab at the ‘?’ button like a demented Riddler this week, as once again we … >