Progress. Don't you ever get the feeling that life's too easy thanks to all these technological innovations and advancements? Once upon a time, if an important message needed to be sent, a business or company would get on the blower to a taxi or motorcyclist to deliver a typewritten document as fast as possible. If there was a delay on the train, then the other half would have to use the power of the mind to work out when his or her partner was coming home. And this was in the days when Derren Brown was still learning to move toy building blocks with mental force. And believe it or not, once upon a time, audiences used to go and...
Welcome to the wacky world of Midsomer Murders, where traditional murder weapons just won't do. Here are some of the most memorable methods of dispatch, Midsomer-style (in random order)... Death By... Caravan (Death's Shadow) Or more precisely, a burning caravan. The pilot episode introduced us to smarmy property guy, David Whitely. He returns in Death's Shadow with a view to selling the property bought from his former boss – complete with 'inspired' insults to Troy. “Sergeant Joy!” “Sergeant Boy!” That's some gentle comedy there, buddy... It's the property that could be the motive behind his grisly demise. Some rapscallion has locked the estate manager in his temporary accommodation and doused the caravan with petrol, setting it ablaze. ITV3's regular repeats...
For the first few minutes, Hero looks set to be something of a light-hearted romp. We fade up on an imaginary advert in which Cordelia pictures a great promotion for Angel Investigations – complete with Angel looking straight into the camera, announcing: “You can count on me – I'm the Dark Avenger!” It's pure comedy silliness, only exaggerated by Doyle recoiling at the thought of his boss dressing up in a superhero costume. The daftness continues as Cordy elects to opt for the 'common man' approach. Armed with only a camcorder and hastily rigged cue cards, Cordy's chosen her representative for Angel Investigations. Doyle's stumbling, fluffed attempts at enticing punters to Angel's business isn't exactly award-winning material. What with the...
If you paid attention to your GCSE science – unlikely, I know – then you may remember all that jazz about magnets. In particular, the weird way in which two like-for-like magnet poles repel each other rather than attach. Having just flicked through the Ladybird Guide To Science For Five-Year-Olds (I was always rubbish at science), I'm reminded of this notion when reviewing the Buffy and Angel episodes back to back. While Angel has generally gone all dark and broody, lately, quite a few of the episodes of Buffy The Vampire Slayer have gone the other way. We've had the brain-dead pointlessness of Beer Bad, the half Thanksgiving tutorial/half Buffy's Kitchen antics of Pangs, and now, along comes Something Blue,...
Never mind me wittering 10 to the dozen about TV's greatest ever series, time was, it seemed that at one point, the world and his wife wanted to talk about Doctor Who. Especially when a brand spanking new series was about to hit the airwaves – that's cause for all sorts of newspapers, magazines, websites and TV shows to promote, discuss and analyse the latest escapades of the good Doctor. Well, these days, not so much. You're lucky if you hear a vague whisper of what sandwich filling Jodie Whittaker plumped for in her lunch break. Chibnall's clampdown on behind the scenes gossip has been taken to extremes, with not so much as a peep emerging about the forthcoming season...