TV
The disappointment of 70 Up (so far)
In advance, I confidently imagined that 70 Up would be the big programme of the week. In the event, it…
The terror of Russian prisons
The competition must be pretty stiff for ‘World’s worst airport to be caught with drugs in your baggage’: Bogota? Miami?…
Is Alley Cats really that bad?
We first saw Sybylla, the heroine (in every sense) of My Brilliant Career, at a society gathering in 1900 Australia…
A triumphant adaptation of Game of Thrones
Wasn’t it Philomena Cunk who first observed that Shakespeare’s greatest work is Game of Thrones? She had a point. When…
The World Cup is evil
I tried to think, Pointless-style, of two of the countries least likely to be participating in the world kicky-ball nonsense.…
Why I’m increasingly drawn to optimistic sci-fi
You know you’re getting old when you see Geena Davis from Thelma & Louise cast as a granny sex symbol…
AI could never replace me
There are two main schools of thought on AI in the Delingpole household. I, as the resident batshit-crazy reactionary tinfoil-hat…
Big Mistakes is hysterical – but not in a good way
When following up a successful sitcom, should a writer head off into new territory or not? That was the question…
HBO Max isn’t worth subscribing to
HBO Max is the latest streaming channel trying to lure you into yet another of those £10 a month subscription…
Over-cautious and clumsy: The Downfall of Huw Edwards reviewed
It’s not easy for a drama to be over-cautious and clumsy at the same time. Or to turn a real-life…
Goodwill will not save Claudia Winkleman’s new chat show
Claudia Winkleman has a chat show on the BBC. I’m struggling to understand why this is a story but I…
Charming: The Other Bennet Sister reviewed
The Other Bennet Sister is to Pride and Prejudice what Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is to Hamlet.…
Life could be worse – you could be Jonathan Ross
‘Oh dear, you look like an old person,’ said Girl, greeting me in the interval of the Bach choir’s St…
Fascinating: The Fabulous Funeral Parlour reviewed
The Fabulous Funeral Parlour ended with possibly the least necessary caption in TV history: ‘Filmed in Liverpool’. Whenever I go…
The demise of London’s junk shops
‘The place through which he made his way at leisure was one of those receptacles for old and curious things…
Gripping: Amazon Prime’s The Tank reviewed
I don’t know how it got past the increasingly powerful ‘All Germans were evil Nazis’ censors but Amazon has released…
The worst Agatha Christie adaptation I can remember
When it comes to Agatha Christie adaptations, there are normally two possible responses to the denouement. One is a deep…
Why has it all gone wrong for The Night Manager?
The Night Manager is finally back after ten years with three major drawbacks: no Elizabeth Debicki for the sex scenes;…
Lucy Worsley’s sleuthing is rather impressive
Lucy Worsley’s Victorian Murder Club opened with its presenter unexpectedly channelling that gravelly voiced bloke who used to do all…
Enough with torture-porn TV
Has anyone got to the end of Malice yet? I’m halfway through – at the time of writing, anyway –…
The cardinals spill the beans on the conclave
Secrets of the Conclave seemed rather optimistically titled, given that everybody at this year’s papal election had made a solemn…
The Beast in Me is surprisingly addictive
The Beast in Me is one of those ‘taut psychological thrillers’ that everyone talks about in the office. This might…
A Spectator poll: What is the greatest artwork of the century so far?
Slavoj Zizek Hegel thought that, in the movement of history, the world spirit passes from one country to another, from…
Gothic lives matter: BBC2’s Civilisations reviewed
Anybody growing weary of the debate surrounding the BBC’s unexamined assumptions and biases about modern politics might have expected to…
Pluribus is a mess
Pluribus is another drama set in the dystopian future. But on this occasion the integrity of the entire human race…
