I love Daria. Granted while she was on TV in the ’90s into the Noughties, I was not exactly the core demographic – I was *cough* 32-37 at the time – but there was something about daria’s disdain for the superficial established order and the way she masterfully handled Continue Reading
TV
Get ready to get deliciously grumpy with The Real Grouches of Sesame Street
I am not a fan of reality TV shows. Apart from a couple of outliers such Survivor and Amazing Race, I generally prefer my drama scripted, well-acted and as unmelodramatic as possible. Which it won’t surprise you to learn rules out watching the mega franchise The Real Housewives, which Continue Reading
Road to Eurovision 2017: Week 5 – F.Y.R. Macedonia, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Lithuania, Malta
What is the Eurovision Song Contest? Started way back in 1956 as a way of drawing a fractured Europe back together with the healing power of music, the Eurovision Song Contest, or Concours Eurovision de la Chanson – the contest is telecast in both English and French – is open Continue Reading
Colony: “Ronin” (S2, E13 review)
SPOILERS AHEAD … AND THE END OF THE WORLD … KIND OF If you are ever looking for a master class in how to end a season of taut, nuanced drama in the most tense and gripping way possible then you should immediately turn to “Ronin”, the finale of Continue Reading
Master of None? In name only as Aziz Ansari returns for season 2 (trailer)
There is something inherently likable about Aziz Ansari. He embodies a genuine warmth and friendliness – that smile alone makes you want to be his friend – and he brings his innate likability to his characters, along with a great sense of humour and a bright, effervescent intelligence. He Continue Reading
Get Ur Freak On with Missy Elliott and the Teletubbies
It’s true what they say – you can’t keep a freaky good Teletubby down! Actually no one likely says that at all, but they should with a brand new mash-up video, by YouTube user Robert Jones, giving the Teletubbies, who ran for 365 episodes in 1997-2001, before being revived Continue Reading
Weekend pop art: Joey Spiotto’s pop culture Little Golden Books
My love for Little Golden Books knows no bounds. A key part of my childhood, they are the stuff of joy and nostalgia, a reassuring touchstone that there are some great and wonderful things in this world that are inherently simple and uncomplicated, and intensely rewarding. The only thing Continue Reading
Road to Eurovision 2017: Week 4 – Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia
What is the Eurovision Song Contest? Started way back in 1956 as a way of drawing a fractured Europe back together with the healing power of music, the Eurovision Song Contest, or Concours Eurovision de la Chanson – the contest is telecast in both English and French – is open Continue Reading
Saturday morning cartoons: The Funky Phantom
Show business has had a long and productive love affair with the axiom “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, happy to keep churning out variations on a theme, or even the same theme itself with minimal changes, if the viewers kept turning up to consume it. Everyone is Continue Reading
The Walking Dead: “The First Day of the Rest of Your Life” (S7, E16 review)
*SPOILERS AHEAD … AND A LONE VERY SURPRISING ZOMBIE* Step right folks, step right up! It’s finale time for The Walking Dead season 7 which if you had listened to the unceasing torrent hype emanating from showrunner Scott Gimple, actors like Andrew Lincoln (Rick) and Michonne (Danai Gurira) and Continue Reading