Insufferable is the word I keep coming back to when I try to find new and novel ways of describing the two titular characters of BBC One’s Mapp and Lucia. Insufferable, insufferable, insufferable. I’m not normally one to engage in schadenfreude; indeed, sometimes I do think my empathy for make believe characters extends far further … >
By the end of the first episode of BBC One’s new adaptation of EF Benson’s Mapp and Lucia, I found myself expressing to my partner in no uncertain terms my gratitude that we live in a midsize city where we don’t know any of our neighbours. Anna Chancellor is Mrs. Lucas – known to her … >
You’ll have heard of Avenue Q before, of course, the delinquent boozy stepchild of Sesame Street. In a supremely confident production, Vancouver’s Arts Club Theatre Company have absolutely nailed the energetic perkiness and gawsh-darned American-ness that’s required to make Avenue Q work. One of the major draws of this show is that it’s much more … >
Appropriate to the season, there’s a jolly panto atmosphere for Vic and Bob’s House of Fools Christmas special. (‘Oh no there isn’t!’) Oh yes there is. The cast are having a merry time; the Fourth Wall has been carted away (and presumably papered over with German Honeymoon Horse wallpaper); and after a successful first season … >
While Morecambe & Wise, EastEnders and Doctor Who have become bywords for Christmas television, there’s something about Victoria Wood that, despite her scarce appearances, inextricably ties her to the holiday season. Perhaps it’s her warmth, her joviality, her focus on ordinary folk just muddling through and being good to their fellow man. The point is, … >
Oh, blessums, The Boy In The Dress really is an utterly sweet tale. Based on the book of the same name (and whose author, David Walliams, makes a brief appearance as a drama teacher turned football referee), BBC One’s one-off Boxing Day film tells the story of twelve-year-old Dennis (played with masses of understated, genuine … >
Call the Midwife may have begun as a show about Jenny Lee’s experiences as a midwife in Poplar, but much has changed in three seasons. Lead actor Jessica Raine has now departed from the show, and this year’s Christmas special is its first real chance to prove that it can continue without her and grow – even … >
Much like ourselves, Doctor Who is expected to overindulge and go a bit crazy on December 25th. Time Lord and Christmas time match perfectly. They’re both mad events which people love and which many take seriously, no matter how absurd they get. So our TVs are decorated with flying sharks dragging sleighs, presents containing portals … >
After a swift six episode run Atlantis is taking its mid-season break – a function of the later start caused by Doctor Who returning to the autumn schedules – and it is a chance to catch our breath. With a more dramatic and action packed tone, the show has certainly covered some ground in those … >
A crowded room. Friends with tired eyes. It could only be the press launch for the Doctor Who Christmas special where BBC top brass, Doctor Who production staff and assorted hacks and ne’er do wells join in the annual celebration of that most seasonal of figures: the Doctor. We know the drill by now – … >