The Visit
Clarissa Tan, who wrote articles and TV reviews for The Spectator, has died of cancer aged 42. She came to…
Channel hopping
So BBC3 will be online-only from next autumn. If the Beeb had presented this news as the channel being the…
In pursuit of the Prince
What if Bonnie Prince Charlie, as he swept down from Scotland towards London to lay claim to the throne, hadn’t…
Looking for racism
Britain has less prejudice than the countries where I’ve lived before – and more people taking offence
Bonjour, Benelux!
So long, Scandinavia. Bonjour, Benelux! BBC4, your subtitle-friendly channel, has filled the hole left by Nordic-noir The Bridge with Belgian…
The end of innocence
Why are we so fascinated by the first world war? As its 100th anniversary approaches, we’re already mired in arguments…
Florence Notebook
Florence was in fog the day I arrived. Its buildings were bathed in white cloud, its people moved as though…
Losing the plot
You know the holiday season is over when, instead of being torn between The X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing…
Staying alive
Sherlock’s not dead. A good thing, since on New Year’s Day BBC1 launched its third series of Sherlock, and it’d…
Pensioner passion
Does love run out when life runs out? Or does it intensify, touching and changing all around it? Two series…
Who’s who
If I could go back in time, I’d watch Doctor Who from the very first episode. I wasn’t born in…
It’s everywhere
They’re now televising proceedings from the Court of Appeal. Great. As if I didn’t have enough to do already, keeping…
Double standards
Will the women on ITV’s The X Factor (Saturday) stop perving? I suppose there are two ways to tackle the…
Watching the detectives
Did Dr Jekyll turn into Jack the Ripper? Besides becoming evil Mr Hyde, did Robert L. Stevenson’s fictional creation morph…
At home with the royals
Are you following the world’s most watched aristocratic family? If you recall, they recently took into their ranks a member…
The ideal death show
I am in a yurt, talking about death. Everyone is seated in a circle, and I am the next-to-last person…
Comic relief
Funny what rises from the rubble. In 1916 British army officer Captain Fred Roberts was searching the bombed-out remains of…
Let us eat cake
I’m not crazy about cookery shows. I suspect they indicate how little we are cooking, rather than how much. We’re…
Tragic comedies
How did our comedies become so sad? BBC1’s new sitcom Big School (Fridays) opened with a scene that would probably…
Learn to switch off
Why not give your smartphone a holiday?
The fake and the furious
I watched Top Gear (BBC2, Sunday) for the first time in my life last week (the rock under which I’ve…
Poking fun by proxy
I sincerely hope you’re not watching television. With the glorious summer sun we’re having, you should be having picnics and…
Dark pleasures
Luther is back, in Luther, and so is Donny Osmond, of Donny & Marie fame. Could there be two more…
