There's a common myth among British TV critics that there's a common myth among British TV viewers that British TV comedies are superior to American ones. In fact, we know perfectly well that The Simpsons, Friends, Frasier, South Park, Seinfeld etc are superior in terms of consistency and longevity to ... Read More...
Dabbler Review
Current TV and film
Last Sunday night's Aurelio Zen mystery (three episodes on BBC1, Sunday 8pm), Vendetta, was remarkably coherent for the genre. The plots of TV thrillers rarely stack up, even in the ninety-minute-plus format spacious enough to accommodate a comprehensive effort. Even the first and most successful of this particular sub-genre, Morse - despite its ... Read More...
Do you find Hollywood films which portray English people as evil upper class tyrants mildly annoying? Well, imagine how it must feel to be German. At any given moment on earth, 98% of all satellite television is made up entirely of evil Nazis (the other 2% is formed from bits ... Read More...
I wasted about 100 minutes of my sleeping time the other night to watch an execrable film called Irina Palm. It starred Marianne Faithfull and I enjoy her singing, but her idea of acting is to be catatonic with slow, vague reactions. The screen play was dire - the story ... Read More...
Despite our island nation's belief in ourselves as thoroughly amusing chaps, decent British-made televisual comedy has been a bit thin on the ground recently, so it was with some trepidation that I approached new comedy series The Trip (BBC 2 Mondays 10pm.) In this six part show, comedians Steve Coogan and ... Read More...
I had a hammer. I hammered in the morning. I hammered in the evening all over this land. I hammered out danger. I hammered out a warning. I hammered out love between my brothers and my sisters all over this land. They should have seen that coming. As I said, ... Read More...
The finest programme currently on television is Only Connect. Cunningly scheduled to begin on BBC Four (not 'BBC4', note: being the most growed-up BBC channel, 'Four' is spelled out in full) just as University Challenge finishes on 2, and heralded by a similar diddle-diddle pseudo-classical theme maintaining the mood of ... Read More...
For much of the 1990s Toby Ash was a regular media commentator on Middle East and international affairs, before descending unexpectedly into the murky world of business and commerce. The Dabbler is pleased to announce that he has now miraculously reappeared on the most south-westerly tip of England from where ... Read More...
Masterchef: The Professionals is reaching its annual climax: it's the semi-finals this week and the finals next. I find it a hugely satisfying piece of television not just because I'm a gourmand. Unlike a number of other reality TV competitions - such as the totally revolting Apprentice - the contestants are ... Read More...
Antiques Roadshow just keeps on trucking, doesn't it? Personally I find it a source of huge comfort in our ever-changing world. There will always be an England whilst there's a new series of AR showing on Sunday nights. It gives a peculiar insight into the middle-of-the-road genius of the English: drenched ... Read More...
