There’s a sense of guilt nowadays that comes with admitting to liking Top Gear. The problematic nature of the Clarkson, Hammond, and May having only become more apparent in the years since their departure: their political incorrectness, possible neo-imperialist tendencies, and lack of factual presentation make for a somewhat uneasy...
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The release of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace in the summer of 1999 drew many a harsh critic but none more so than Tim Bisley of Spaced (1999-2001). Within the show, his disdain for George Lucas’ latest offering at the time is indeed a recurring theme. Still, it is portrayed...
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There are few things I truly love: I love British History, I love the original six Star Wars films, I love Alton Towers, and chief among these I love Doctor Who. The origins of these infatuations though are all in my childhood which makes them somehow harder to explain. Like...
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Whilst the concept of the musical episode or even musical series has become something of a staple on American TV, in Britain these come few and far between. This apparent lack speaks volumes about the British temperament. Just as our comedies often have a darker, more cynical streak, the absence...
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“I spend all my time thinking about it. I’m obsessed by it.” If the words of Mark Corrigan are anything to go by, then romance, or the idea of romance is foundational to Peep Show. Yes, there are certainly other aspects to the show, primarily the dysfunctional friendship between Mark and...
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There’s no denying that Top of the Pops inspired and entertained generations of British youth. Bringing rock and roll to British living rooms, creating Glam Rock, and launching the careers of the likes of Bowie and The Smiths, it was, for the majority of its run, the most important show...
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How easy is it to define the eighties? Is it just the policies of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher? The star persona of someone like Tom Cruise? Or do fictional representations like American Psycho and Stranger Things better embody the decade? Emerging at the height of the zeitgeist, whilst simultaneously...
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As undoubtedly both disappointing and weird that the Millennium Dome experience proved to be (but that’s an entirely different story), strangely, it is still notable for providing the conclusion to a British comedy classic, Blackadder. Ten years on from Blackadder goes Forth, Richard Curtis and Ben Elton ended the series...
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Alton Towers has always been unique: situated within the grounds of the former country estate of the Earls of Shrewsbury, it offers a strange blend of the gothic architecture of the 19th century, and modern leisure entertainment. When you take a look at its marketing however, things become altogether stranger....
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As a fan, Doctor Who is inherently frustrating: as a show, it has pretensions of endless variety but is instead largely formulaic. Every once in while an episode will come along that truly pushes the boat out in terms of what the show can do but such brilliance, as realised...
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Since peaking in popularity in the nineties, the character of Mr. Blobby has seemingly never left the public consciousness. With steady appearances on daytime TV and light entertainment shows, he injects a sense of controlled anarchy missing from an increasingly sanitised landscape. He appeared in Peter Kay’s now infamous ‘Is...
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A train pulls into a Northern Town and another stranger goes missing on the Moors… At a glance, the opening episode of the BBC comedy series The League of Gentlemen feels like something straight out of 1970s horror, both real and imagined. The presentation of the outsider encountering the strange...
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