TV review - The Kemps : All Gold

 After bringing us the misfortunes of fictional Prog  Rock star Brian Pern, writer/director Rhys Thomas turns his attention to real life 1980's pop stars Gary and Martin Kemp. The show follows the misfortunes of the brothers as they prepare for an New Year's Eve concert in front of Big Ben. Such was stealing the mastertapes of their biggest bits and being arrested for dumping chemicals into rivers. A worthy addition to the Rhys  Thomas canon.

A Question no more

 The BBC has announced that long running quiz show A Question of Sport is to cease production. The ship's ratings have been in decline for an number of years now. At it's height it was seen by 19 million viewers when Princess Anne appeared on it a week after being mistaken for a man!

Brigit Fosyth (1940 2023)

 The death has been been announced of Brigit Forsyth. Best  known for playing the much put upon Thelma in Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads. Other work included Doctor Who ,Angetha Christie's Poirot and Doctor Who.

brigit Forsyth R. I. P.

The decline of Brookie

 The death of Dean Sullivan, best known for the role of Jimmy Corkhill in the Channel 4 soap  Brookside brings to mind how it ended unloved. Pushed around the schedules leaving viewers non the wiser when it was on. Brookside ended with a whimper 30 years ago.

Breaking rules

 Broadcasting standards body OFCOM have found GB News guilty of breaking impartiality rules. The offending piece was an interview conducted by current serving Conservative MPs Esther McVey and Phillip Davies with the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.

Awful quiz show answer 11-09-2023

 On the day's edition of Tipping Point a contestant was asked in which Australian soap did the dog Bouncer appeared in. The contestant gave the answer Skippy. The actual answer is of course Neighbours.

Awful quiz show answer 04-09-2023

 On this week's edition of Mastermind a contestant on their specialist subject of the life of Karl Marx was asked the question of which cruise ship did Marx come to the UK on. The contestant gave the answer Titanic. The actual answer is City of Bourgoin.

Steven and the tycoon

 The death of Mohammed so Fayed brings to mind the Toast of London episode titled Vanity Project. The show's main character actor Steven (Matt Berry) Toast finds himself in a film called Prince Philip: Scoundrel Dog  The director is an Arab tycoon who has a problem with the Royal Family not unlike so Fayed in real life.

Micheal Parkinson (1935-2023)

 The death has been announced of Michael Parkinson. With a long and varied career Parkinson  is best known for his chat show that saw him interview the likes of Bing Crosby, Liam Neeson and in a rather uncomfortable experience for both of them Met Ryan. He also presented the game show Give us a Clue. Michael was briefly on ITV breakfast show TV-AM.

Michael Parkinson R.I.p

2 loss in a big way

 BBC Radio 2 has seen it's listeners figures go down. One reason for this is the departure of the likes of Ken Bruce to commercial rivals Greatest Hits Radio.

Honest view

 Peter Fincham has had a varied career in the media. Line job was as controller of ITV. In an Interview with David Hepworth and Mark Ellen on their YouTube channel he told them of the time Simon Cowell played him X-Factor winner's Alexandra Burke version of the Leonard Cohen song Hallelujah. Peter through it was awful.

Not on your marks

 The Australian state of Victoria has said it will not hold the next Commonwealth Games in 2026 blaming raisins costs. No replacement has been found yet.

Jen is back with her sais

 News has come out that Jennifer Garner is returning to the role of Elektra in the upcoming Deadpool 3. She be joining Hugh Jackman's Wolverine and her ex husband Ben Affleck as Daredevil. Ryan Reynolds is returning in his title role.

Jacob

 Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg GB News programme is to be investigated over it's coverage of trial involving ex US President Donald Trump. Another politician turned TV by Alex Sad Talk TV programme is also being investigated.

Perils of the game

 The BBC1 version of Gladiators has hit a couple of setbacks. Female gladiators Comet and Sabre have both been hit with injuries during filming of the new series. No news if they will be replaced.

Dwarf back on the Beeb

 It has been announced that every episode of science fiction sit com Red Dwarf will be on BBC I-player. The last time the BBC showed the show was in 2007.

Angela Thorne (1939-2023)

 The death has been announced of actress Angela Thorne. Her work encompassed both stage and screen. She was most famous for her role in To the Manor Born opposite Penelope Keith and Peter Bowles. Another sit com Angela appeared was Three up, Two Down with Michael Elphick. She appeared in dramas like Midsommer Murders and Wallender.

Angela Thorne R. I. P.

Not impressed

 So Mmanchesr City won the treble. Suppose it helps if you have a mountain range of money behind you.

Caine the scribe

 Michael Caine has starred in an number of films based on thriller novels, most famously the Harry Palmer series. 5iNow he has smitten his own. Tittled Dearly Game, the plot revoles radio active material. The novel comes out in November.

Goodbye Charlie

 It has been announced that Derek Thompson is leaving his  role of Chanrlie Fairhead in casualty. He has played the role since the shop started in 1986.

ITV scandals

 This Morning is not the first ITV programme to be at the centre of a scandal. Here are 3 others.

opportunity knocks

Despite being one of the biggest TV shows at the time, it was axed due to host Hughie Green airing his right wing views on the show. Green never had the same level of  fame he once had.

gladiators

The first British version was an number of scandals. One gladiator tested positive for steroids while another was jailed for their part in a police corruption case.

British Comedy Awards

in 2005 prodthat Cucers were eager to get pop star Robbie Williams on the show. He said he appear but only if give an awatr td to his pals Ant and Dec. The trouble was that were only in a fan vote. On the night he got his wish but a few years later it turned out that Catherine Tate was the actual winner.

At last?

 We could be seeing one of the most unique castings in Hollywood history could finally happens. More soon more in a month.

Stephen innocent

 The actor Stephen Thompkison has been found not guilty of grievous bodily harm. One night Stephen found 2 men drunk outside his home. One of the men in fell to the ground causing brain damage. Stephen was accused of punching the man,but the Drop The Dead Donkey star was found not to have done so.

Into the hall

 This year's inductees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame have been announced.  They include Kate Bush, Sheryl Crow, George Michael and Willie Nelson. Living inductees are expected to attend the induction cermonary in November which showed be interesting given Bush has not appeared in public for over 20 years.

Gallent defeat

 This year's World Snooker championship was won by Luuca Bresel. The Belgian is the fourth non British winner of the event Mark Selby was the runner up despite scoring a maximum 147.

The changing times of Adam

 Starting tonight on Channel Five is the second series of Dalgeish. The screen version of the Adam Dalgeish novels by P. D. James. The series is set in the 1970s. However this notthe novels have been brought to the screen for eexample Death of an Expert Witness was set in the year it was broadcast,1983.

No laughs tonight

 The BBC 4 archive comedy slot is being given a rest while the World Snooker Championship is on. 

King and Bond

 It has been announced that an new James Bond novel will be published. On His Majesty Secret Service will come out a couple of days before the coronation of King Charles III. It is written by Charlie Higson who has written an number of Young James Bond novels,though Higson has said this book will be more adult.

We dont want you here

 Wimbledon officials have announced that players from both Russia and Belarus have been banned from the tournament for life. This is due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.q

TV ratings 26-03-2023

 The new version of Great Expectations drew 3.4 million viewers on BBC1 for it's not first episode. I got bad reviews from 2 completely different publications, the right wing Daily Mail and the left wing New Statesman.

Is that you Miss H?

 Starting tonight on BBC1 is an new version of the Dickens classic Great Expectations. This was written for the screen by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight. It has already caused a  fuss by making additions to the text. One is that Miss Havisham ( Played by Olivia Colman) is an opium addict. How audiences react remains to be seen.

Alstair calls it a day

 Famed newscaster Alistair Stuart has announced his retirement. Stuart spent most of his career at ITN with a brief period at London News Network. He finishes his career at GB news after a ill advised tweet was him leave mainstream media.

Boris in the firng line

 Former British Prime Minister Boris has is facing questioning over parties held in No 10 Downing Street during the Co-vid lock down. If he is found guilty he could be thorwn out of Parliament.

Willow is at an end

 Disney+ have announced the cancellation of the Willow series. Based on the 1988 film of the same name. The first season ended on a cliffhanger that will not be resolved.

Not much of a match

 Tonight's Match of the Day will be a lesser affair than usal. This follows an number of on screen staff withdrawing after the suspension of Gary Lineaker after he posted a tweet comparing British Government policy on immigration to some thing from Nazi Germany. What happens next is anyone guess.

News loss

 GB News the right wing news station whose presenters include Nigel Farage and one time actor Laurence Fox has announced losses of over 30 million pounds. This comes after broadcasting watchdog found that one of their presenters was guilty of making misleading claims about CO-VID jabs. The future does not look good for the station.

No more highlights

 News is that the BBC are planning to axe it's Wimbledon highlights show. This is due to matches over running and displacing the show. The problem is that it has an early evening slot while play is still on going. Once but over the years it has been pushed back.

Worst evef?

Yesterday's edition of Tipping Point featured possibly the worst contest in the show's history. Failing to get a right answer in the first round, they failed to get a right answer in the second round which led to their elimination. Just to underline the weak performance they got an question about Liam Neeson wrong.

Awful quiz show answer 27-02-2023

 On Mastermind a contestant was asked in which sport is concluded by the referee saying the phase game, set and match. The answer given was Cricket. The actual answer is of course Tennis.

Up staging Ralf

Tonight on BBC1 sees the start of Beyond Paradise, a spin-off of Death in Paradise. Kris Marshall reprises his role as Police Detective Inspector Humphrey Goodman who has moved to Devon with his girlfriend. Following the first episode of Beyond Paradise is the last episode of the current series of Death in Paradise. Was it a wise move to draw comparisons with current Death in Paradise star Ralf Little?

Motty is gone

 In the week the death of Dickie Davis was announced another legend British sports broadcasting has died. John Motson  the voice of Football for the BBC for 3 decades has died. 

John .Motson R. I. P.

Dickie Davis (1928-2023)

 The death has been announced of Dicke Davis. One of the most popular sports presenters on British TV. His biggest claim was as the presenter of World of Sport ITV answer to Grandstand. It was highly popular for its coverage of All In Wrestling with the likes of Big Daddy and Giant Haysticks, though Davis said he loathed it. Davis retired from TV work in 1989 though he did some work on Radio.

R. I. P. Dickie Davis

Equal footing?

 Joanna Lumley has expressed her concerns about gender natural awards. She feels that female performers would be sidelined. An one gender natural awards exposed this, all the  nominations for the best album of the year were by men. This argument will not be resolved any time soon

TV ratings 12-02-2023

 Real life crime drama The Gold launched to 4 million viewers on BBC1. It beat ITV1 detective drama Vera by a couple of hundred thousand viewers.

Where did the gold went?

 This Sunday night sees a new drama called The Good starting on BBC1. It is based around the real life robbery of a Brinks Matt warehouse where gold bullion, diamonds and cash then coming to a total of £ 26 million pounds (now it would be over £ 91 million pounds) with much of the gold unrecovered. One man who looms large over the case is John Palmer ironically nicknamed Goldfinger. He faced trial but was found not guilty. Palmer was later filmed by investigate reporter Roger Cook who Palmer issued a death threat to. Justice finally caught up with Palmer when he was found guilty of a time share fraud scheme, somehow Palmer did no have to pay his victims. In 2015 Palmer was murdered in his garden, the case remains unsolved.

Basil returns

 It has been announced that John Clesse is working on a reboot of Fawlty Towers. This new version will see Basil navigating the modern world in his own unique way. No air date as yetq.

We have the authority

 A few days ago it was announced that an number of film and TV shows based on DC Comics titles would be made. Perhaps the most curious is The Authority, a comic book once described as Justice League on steroids. The team has 2 members (Midnighter and Apollo) who could be compared to Batman and Superman, who are a gay couple. One of the most unique superhero movie is on it's way.

Awful quiz show answer 31-01-2023

 On the recent edition of Tipping Point a contestant was asked how many teams take part in the FA Cup final. The answer given was 14. The actual answer is of course 2.

Awful quiz show answer 16-01-2023

 On the recent edition of Mastermind a contestant was asked on which daytime Tv show do teams wearing red and blue compete in buying antiques. The answer they gave was Antiques Roadshow. The actual answer is Bargain Hunt.

TV ratings 03-01-2023

 The first episode of the revival of Waterloo Road drew 1.6 million viewers. A disappointment considering the pre launch hype.

TV ratings 02-01-2023

 The first episode of ITV1 drama Stonehouse got 2.5 million viewers compared to 4.3 million viewers Silent Witness got on BBC1. The 2 will clash again tonight.

Where John went

 Starting tonight on ITV1 is Stonehouse. It tells the true story of John Stonehouse, a Labour MP who faked his own death to avoid an number of troubles. Playing Stonehouse is Matthew MacFadyen while playing his wife is Matthew's own wife Keeley Hawes.