So, by now, the whole world (well, almost) has had the opportunity to gaze upon the first episode of Torchwood: Miracle Day, the fourth series of the Doctor Who spin-off from writer Russell T Davies.
Some programmes thrive on constantly treading the line between funny and serious without ever truly identifying which they are – Shameless did it for years before toppling over the edge – while others are content to nail their comedic or dramatic flags to the mast from the outset.
Battlestar Galactica spin-off Caprica was never going to have an easy start in life. Born in the shadow of its towering parent, it had to do justice to the elegant and complex universe of BSG while exploring the artificial-intelligence theme from a new angle that would benefit from a more earth-bound setting.
For the third time in four years, the Robot Chicken team have produced a special extended episode dedicated to Star Wars.
Based on three novels by Kate Atkinson, this recent BBC One series features the adventures of former soldier, onetime policeman and permanently good-natured private investigator Jackson Brodie, played by Harry Potter villain Jason Isaacs.
There are only a few reasons why television remakes are commissioned, but the ways in which they can fail are as plentiful as there are fans to castigate a production company for daring to make such horrendous sows’ ears out of the silk purse originals.
‘This is the NHS,’ a podgy pathologist points out to Detective Sergeants Brooks and Devlin at the beginning of the episode, ‘not CSI.’ – and there’s no mistaking the warmer, more down-to-earth British cousin of the long-running, long-faced American franchise for anything more transatlantic.
After a fair bit of scheduling problems in America, The Kennedys finally arrive at the BBC. Back in the US, the show was pulled by the History network; apparently because, according to some critics, its version of real-life events wasn’t anybody’s idea of history.
Stolen opens with the legend, ‘Once upon a time…’ printed on the screen. Like the fairytales that two German brothers collected and published in the nineteenth century, this is about as Grimm a story as it gets.
Irwin Allen, the cult producer of various fanciful sixties TV sci-fi shows including Lost In Space, The Time Tunnel and Land Of The Giants, was best known as a purveyor of factually incorrect, faintly ridiculous camp classics.