Author Archives: Qwerty

The Apprentice Series 8, Episode 1: All the twonky people, where do they all come from?

And they’re off! Setting off at a great clip for the eighth glorious season, here come the usual array of world-class twonks, trotting across the wobbly old Millennium Bridge with their serious business faces on. The women all leggy and over made-up, seriously over made-up, as if someone’s painted on them with Airfix paints while they slept; the men all thrusting bollocks and big hair and passive-aggressive sniping. Continue reading

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Podcasts: The Slate Culture Gabfest

For a long time podcasts were a mystery to me. They were mentioned on the BBC website so were sort of mainstream, but why would you need them with Listen Again? More recently, thanks to the estimable US webmag Slate, it began to dawn on me what gems I was missing. Continue reading

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Sherlock: The Hounds of Baskerville

Arrrrr-oooooooooh! Continue reading

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Great Expectations (episode 3): Show me the money

So the Beeb’s Xmas showpiece reached its conclusion last night with Pip in a jam. Continue reading

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Great Expectations (episode 2): I know thee not old man (and possibly old woman)

New furniture, tailored clothes, fine wines, an effete accent and squiggly handwriting: it seems that the nouveau-flush Pip doesn’t want to deny himself any indulgence. The only thing he doesn’t seem to have is a moral compass. Continue reading

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Great Expectations (episode 1): Who’s the sugar daddy?

Certain things in life are inevitable. Death and taxes, said Benjamin Franklin, but he might have added the certainty that one day Ray Winstone would loom out of a misty fen to scare the shit out of Pip in a Christmas production of Great Expectations. Continue reading

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Rev.: Series 2, Episode 2

Ooh, the tricky second episode of the second series. I love Rev. I love everyone in it. I love the pace and the feel of it. I love Tom Hollander – I’ve made that very clear – but I’d be equally happy to settle down with Miles Jupp or Olivia Coleman, were they willing. So it pains me to say that I thought this episode was contrived. Continue reading

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The Archers: I should be so lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky

SPOILER ALERT! Contains speculation about future plot twist that actually you have probably also guessed as it’s not exactly been foreshadowed in particularly subtle fashion. Continue reading

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The Archers: Nice day for a white wedding

There’s really ever such a lot that is irritating in the Archers at the moment. All right, there’s no need for that. I mean even more than usual. Continue reading

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Fags, Mags and Bags Series 3: It is the humour

There are many series where you have to start at the beginning. Most in fact, now I think about it for more than half a second. But Fags, Mags and Bags is not one such programme Continue reading

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