Put a shouty man of a certain age in charge of something important enough for long enough – a nation at war; British domestic security; the F-Word kitchen – and before you know it, he's a national treasure. Or at least that's what seems to have happened to Winston Churchill, Harry out of Spooks, and Gordon Ramsay, who's from that special breed of middle-aged male broadcasters that everyone...
There was a public service announcement on BBC2 just now, right after The Thick Of It , saying how dangerous sparklers were, and that there were more safety tips on www.direct.gov.uk. Enjoy . My favourite is "Never put fireworks in your pocket or throw them" . I mean, it's one or the other, isn't it? Or is it like "having your cake and eating it" ? I also liked "Light at arm's...
Ths is my problem with British actor Charles Dance in his role as Vincent Price The Witchfinder General in tonight’s episode of Merlin on BBC1. It doesn’t matter what he appears in, be it Gosford Park, Phantom of the Opera, Bleak House or The Jewel in the Crown, there’s one scene, and one line that [...]
So sayeth Mark Steyn , referring to this BBC News story : Shooting Raises Fears For Muslims In US Army Steyn : Really? Right now the body count stands at: Non-Muslims 13 Muslims 0 Even if you are concerned that it would be terribly unfair if all Muslims were to be tarred by Major Hasan's brush, it is, to put it at its mildest, the grossest bad taste to default every single time within minutes to the...
Following the criticism of some BBC coverage of the Fort Hood killings, credit is due to the BBC's Gavin Lee for including in his report this morning the following interview with a young Muslim from the same mosque attended by Major Hasan (the Islamic Community of Greater Killeen) : Duane : I'm not going to condemn him for what he did. I don't know why he did it. I will not, absolutely not, condemn...
Now don't get me wrong, nobody plumps up a cushion higher than i do for a BBC4 rockumentary but we really should be issued with some sort of interactive QI-siren kit for when the following inevtitable cliches appear from the mouths of musicians - 1. "Nobody had ever seen/heard anything like it before" YES. THEY. HAD. In fact in all probability they'd seen/heard The Beatles do it. 2. "I...
Never let it be said that we here at Biased BBC refuse to recognise examples of BBC balance when we spot them: Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.
If it's Saturday, it must be another feeble column from Amanda Platell in the Mail. What does she write about today? Sex education in schools ( covered in the Mail on 6 Nov ), Fern Britton doing a religious chat show on BBC ( covered in the Mail on 5 Nov ), Drew Barrymore in a frock ( covered in the Mail on 5 Nov ), the U2 Berlin concert ( covered in the Mail on 6 Nov ), an attack on Helen Goodman...
My 'Relentless' energy drink wasn't worth the purchase. Tuning into 'Later With Jools Holland' on BBC2 provided me with a another, more potent, alternative to the toxic blend of sugar and caffeine - noise. head-thumbing, noise. Listening to Jay-Z spurt self-glorifying, egotistic 'smack my bitch up' lyrics to a monotone baseline with no variation in rhythm or invention whatsoever, was like listening...
SO DID Harry Pearce – last seen being kidnapped – live to spy for another series? Yes, of course he did . . . even though they tried toying with us for the first 12 minutes (Spooks, BBC1, Wednesday).
IN THE future, when people ask “So what sort of stuff should the BBC be spending our licence fee on'” I think I’ll say . . . Stuff like Into The Storm (BBC2, Monday).
My dream last night was interrupted by advertising! I was dreaming contentedly away in what I hoped was a respectably BBC4 fashion when up pops a commercial for some bubblegum. Bubblegum made by Alice Cooper (or at least it was branded as such). I know advertising must be pretty cheap at the moment, but why is Alice Cooper targeting me? As a man in the 35-to-a-million age bracket who doesn't like bubblegum...