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Television / Radio

Cathy Come Home

As I have been comparing unfavourably contemporary TV drama to that of the past I thought I should revisit Cathy Come Home which I have now re-seen. It started life as a Wednesday Play produced by Tony Garnett and directed by Ken Loach, the writer was Jeremy Sandford, husband of novelist Nell [...]

September 7, 2021 // 0 Comments

Leg over… 30 years on

Can it really be 30 years ago that Brian Johnston and Jonathan Agnew ‘lost it’ on air in a fit of giggles after the description of Ian Botham losing his wicket as ‘he could not quite get his leg over’? Well it was and one of the most famous events in broadcasting was celebrated in the [...]

September 6, 2021 // 0 Comments

Vigil/BBC One

The problem with contemporary BBC drama is that it is all too predictable. There is invariably a stressed-out but assertive woman detective, normally gay, who confronts successfully the male establishment. In this case the detective Amy (Suzanne Jones) is literally dropped into a nuclear submarine [...]

August 31, 2021 // 0 Comments

My sporting weekend

It’s weekends like these that justify my £10 betting cap. Sunday was grey, windy and wet. A perfect day then for tv sport except we were denied by the weather an exciting finale to the Test and it was the finale too of the Olympics. The Racing Post felt that Fulham, whilst a better side than [...]

August 9, 2021 // 0 Comments

A cornucopia of tv sport

As I tucked into my Weetabix with The Times sport supplement I anticipated a wonderful array of sport on the television: the Olympics, the England v India Test, the Lions Test, the US PGA at St Jude and, although I was not disappointed, I feel obliged in true Rust tradition to criticise the [...]

August 8, 2021 // 0 Comments

Oh – so that was it, was it?

For my sins – to be honest, it felt as much a duty as an imperative – I duly watched the live Sky Sports TV coverage of the Third Test between the Springboks and the British & Irish Lions in Capetown yesterday (kick-off 5.00pm UK time) which ended in a 19-16 victory, and thereby an [...]

August 8, 2021 // 0 Comments

Fings ain’t what they used ter be …

There are those among the contributors to this organ – and probably also its readers – who are familiar with – and/or are even habitual visitors to – the Talking Pictures television channel whose particular raison d’etre is to broadcast popular British and other television [...]

August 6, 2021 // 0 Comments

Write around the world/BBC4

I was attracted to this programme presented by actor Richard E Grant for several reasons. Firstly, I had seen his programme on the art of The French Riviera and enjoyed it. Secondly I knew the Analfi coast which he was visiting well. Thirdly most of the books he was discussing set in that region I [...]

August 4, 2021 // 0 Comments

Olympic coverage

Like my colleagues on the Rust I find the back drop of empty seats in the stadiums a distinct turn off. In the week of track and field I miss the winning athlete draped in the national flag going over to supporters. I am also less than impressed by the BBC coverage. The BBC has so few sporting [...]

August 3, 2021 // 0 Comments

Countdown to surrender/PBS

It’s an interesting issue as to why and how capably the German army fought in the latter stages of World War Two when there was little chance of successful resistance. The answer was supplied in this excellent documentary. The most telling reason was Adolf Hitler himself who not only thought [...]

July 29, 2021 // 0 Comments

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